diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 710831abb1..3c80073cfa 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 All notable changes to this project will be documented in this file.
 
 The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
-and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
+and this project adheres to the versioning scheme outlined in the [README.md](README.md).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
@@ -37,6 +37,12 @@ compatible with prior chainstate directories.
 - Fixed faulty logic in the mempool that was still treating the transaction fee
   as a fee rate, which prevented replace-by-fee from working as expected.
 
+## [2.0.10.0.1]
+
+This is a low-priority hotfix release to address a bug in the deserialization logic. The
+chainstate directory of 2.0.10.0.1 is compatible with 2.0.10. This release also begins the
+usage of the versioning scheme outlined in the [README.md](README.md).
+
 ## [2.0.10]
 
 This is a low-priority hotfix release to address two bugs in the block downloader. The
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b563985a9f..f60a58aa46 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -33,6 +33,23 @@ according to the following rubric:
 - **Medium Priority**. Any fix for an issue that could cause miners to waste funds
 - **Low Priority**. Any fix for an issue that could deny service to individual nodes
 
+## Versioning
+
+This repository uses a 5 part version number.
+
+```
+X.Y.Z.A.n
+
+X = 2 and does not change in practice unless there’s another Stacks 2.0 type event
+Y increments on consensus-breaking changes
+Z increments on non-consensus-breaking changes that require a fresh chainstate (akin to semantic MAJOR)
+A increments on non-consensus-breaking changes that do not require a fresh chainstate, but introduce new features (akin to semantic MINOR)
+n increments on patches and hot-fixes (akin to semantic PATCH)
+```
+
+For example, a node operator running version `2.0.10.0.0` would not need to wipe and refresh their chainstate
+to upgrade to `2.0.10.1.0` or `2.0.10.0.1`. However, upgrading to `2.0.11.0.0` would require a new chainstate.
+
 ## Roadmap
 
 - [x] [SIP 001: Burn Election](https://github.com/stacksgov/sips/blob/main/sips/sip-001/sip-001-burn-election.md)
diff --git a/src/vm/types/serialization.rs b/src/vm/types/serialization.rs
index e1ed18ad53..2e025a2b1f 100644
--- a/src/vm/types/serialization.rs
+++ b/src/vm/types/serialization.rs
@@ -342,8 +342,7 @@ impl Value {
 
                 r.read_exact(&mut data[..])?;
 
-                // can safely unwrap, because the buffer length was _already_ checked.
-                Ok(Value::buff_from(data).unwrap())
+                Value::buff_from(data).map_err(|_| "Bad buffer".into())
             }
             TypePrefix::BoolTrue => {
                 check_match!(expected_type, TypeSignature::BoolType)?;
@@ -517,8 +516,7 @@ impl Value {
 
                 r.read_exact(&mut data[..])?;
 
-                // can safely unwrap, because the string length was _already_ checked.
-                Ok(Value::string_ascii_from_bytes(data).unwrap())
+                Value::string_ascii_from_bytes(data).map_err(|_| "Bad string".into())
             }
             TypePrefix::StringUTF8 => {
                 let mut total_len = [0; 4];