Unable to start Z2M on Node.js versions after v26.2

What happened?

A recent regular upgrade/reboot has left me unable to start Z2M, despite it working for months. Unfortunately, downgrading Z2M hasn't fixed the problem. I'm left wondering if somehow the upgrade left my adapter in a bad state or the dependencies (node?) are somehow related. I tried using the Sonoff web flasher to update to 8.0.2, but no luck.

Adapter: Sonoff ZBDongle-E v2; Flashed with https://darkxst.github.io/silabs-firmware-builder/ to 7.4
Z2M Version: 2.12.1

[2026-07-16 10:11:22] info: 	zh:ember: ======== Ember Adapter Starting ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] info: 	zh:ember:ezsp: ======== EZSP starting ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH Adapter reset ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: RTS/CTS config is off, enabling software flow control.
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Opening serial port with {"path":"/dev/serial/by-id/usb-Itead_Sonoff_Zigbee_3.0_USB_Dongle_Plus_V2_26218b05aa4bef1181efb9a079f42d1b-if00-port0","baudRate":115200,"rtscts":false,"autoOpen":false,"parity":"none","stopBits":1,"xon":true,"xoff":true}
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Serial port opened
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH starting ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ---> [FRAME type=RST]
[2026-07-16 10:11:22] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 0/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 100/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 200/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 300/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 400/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 500/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 600/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 700/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 800/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 900/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:23] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 1000/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: Waiting for RSTACK... 1100/5000
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: <--- [FRAME type=RSTACK]
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH connected ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ---> [FRAME type=ACK frmRx=0](ackRx=0)
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] info: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ======== ASH started ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] info: 	zh:ember:ezsp: ======== EZSP started ========
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] debug: 	zh:ember:ezsp: ===> [FRAME: ID=0:"VERSION" Seq=0 Len=4]
[2026-07-16 10:11:24] debug: 	zh:ember:uart:ash: ---> [FRAME type=DATA frmTx=0 frmRx=0](ackRx=0)
[2026-07-16 10:11:38] debug: 	zh:ember:ezsp: =x=> [FRAME: ID=0:"VERSION" Seq=0 Len=4] Error: ASH_ERROR_TIMEOUTS

What did you expect to happen?

Z2M has worked successfully for many months with this setup.

How to reproduce it (minimal and precise)

No response

Zigbee2MQTT version

2.12.1

Adapter firmware version

Zigbee (EZSP) 7.4.4.0 build 0

Adapter

Sonoff ZBDongle-E v2

Setup

Z2M is running directly on x86 arch linux install.

Linux elitant 7.1.3-arch1-3 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Mon, 13 Jul 2026 20:15:15 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Device database.db entry

No response

Debug log

log.log
ttyUSB0.log

Notes

No response

Start by reviewing the attached log.log and ttyUSB0.log alongside the reported startup sequence, then reproduce the failure with Node.js after v26.2 on the Sonoff ZBDongle-E v2 setup. Done means identifying whether the version change causes the EZSP VERSION timeout and restoring successful Z2M startup without requiring an unrelated adapter downgrade.