diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index ef4adda..f8496ba 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -9,6 +9,15 @@ and this project adheres to [Semantic Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0
 
 ### Fixed
 
+- Upgrade the Nostr SDK and database dependencies to released 0.45 patch
+  versions. NIP-77 database scans now run off async workers, avoiding runtime
+  stalls that can delay unrelated relay connections. Reconciliation excludes
+  expired events, and NIP-77 continuation messages no longer consume the
+  query-start allowance.
+
+- Pick up upstream relay validation fixes that reject reposted protected
+  events and verify the declared proof-of-work target as well as the event hash.
+
 - Require EOSE before accepting background discovery history, instead of treating
   a disconnected or timed-out partial response as a completed fetch.
 
diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index f979768..a3e6556 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -1359,9 +1359,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nostr"
-version = "0.45.0"
+version = "0.45.5"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "7279feef28d43a04c0b3529acd4fea923ac816729bd643191b292296f1f6cc13"
+checksum = "38ca5c25a6df8d4d78fdf39b42792438f6ce22b4809ccbfdb27582ed9ca45407"
 dependencies = [
  "base64",
  "bech32",
@@ -1379,13 +1379,14 @@ dependencies = [
  "unicode-normalization",
  "universal-time",
  "url",
+ "zeroize",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nostr-database"
-version = "0.45.0"
+version = "0.45.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "81c7ffd33114d62c737dd2b8f77ffec4693c64b7a1c6090cab0d0009f9986e22"
+checksum = "309950383c9854ca413d195705400e78b1376aedc48f3256754a86c609c047e8"
 dependencies = [
  "nostr",
  "opaquerr",
@@ -1393,9 +1394,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nostr-gossip"
-version = "0.45.0"
+version = "0.45.1"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "fa07539e52a71cb91fe0d693facaa298f03fcf9edcd66a521094e18e286e2336"
+checksum = "4ea822fd48ff6b84b81ddf84169e6edf1dc0bc9b312c8e41685b2278debaac3d"
 dependencies = [
  "nostr",
  "opaquerr",
@@ -1403,9 +1404,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nostr-lmdb"
-version = "0.45.0"
+version = "0.45.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "b7a313418ff58bfa444ba4b71200ff8fe2d3eb31f2b5d0d8fdb7f5e60a703d31"
+checksum = "79727470014fb64cd1e03bf52f82bc46b69cc7ac0a9298a517498a0e84239f2a"
 dependencies = [
  "async-utility",
  "flatbuffers",
@@ -1419,9 +1420,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nostr-memory"
-version = "0.45.0"
+version = "0.45.2"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "1a827de4b11c4f2b235eabe37f1a67460db68e453606f4755e1ac5a522347a86"
+checksum = "f5a9091e50b0ebcf8d9bd8ded23665d0434aa0eeb22b8464fc882ac124dbe5bf"
 dependencies = [
  "btreecap",
  "nostr",
@@ -1431,9 +1432,9 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "nostr-sdk"
-version = "0.45.0"
+version = "0.45.3"
 source = "registry+https://github.com/rust-lang/crates.io-index"
-checksum = "359881fbaded2d19a5003609673744b8b68c4973817598eb0e262d049ec9c3f3"
+checksum = "c53a37469ce2df8fe6471b6a4d1c4da833f86c7ba0138ac95299b6f37f69ec84"
 dependencies = [
  "async-utility",
  "async-wsocket",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index c9aaf10..7335343 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -17,15 +17,10 @@ hyper-util = { version = "0.1", features = ["tokio", "server", "http1", "http2"]
 http-body-util = "0.1"
 
 # Nostr
-#
-# The stable 0.45 series contains the upstream NEG-OPEN handling fix used by
-# the embedded relay. Caret requirements accept compatible patch releases.
-nostr = "0.45.0"
-# `local-relay` carries the embedded relay implementation, previously the
-# separate `nostr-relay-builder` crate.
-nostr-sdk = { version = "0.45.0", features = ["local-relay"] }
-nostr-lmdb = "0.45.0"
-nostr-memory = "0.45.0"
+nostr = "0.45.5"
+nostr-sdk = { version = "0.45.3", features = ["local-relay"] }
+nostr-lmdb = "0.45.3"
+nostr-memory = "0.45.2"
 
 # Utilities
 # SHA-1 for the `Sec-WebSocket-Accept` handshake. `nostr` uses this same crate
diff --git a/docs/explanation/architecture.md b/docs/explanation/architecture.md
index d49fd77..ff1c4ee 100644
--- a/docs/explanation/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/explanation/architecture.md
@@ -118,9 +118,8 @@ runtime:
 ```rust
 hyper = "1"
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }
-nostr-relay-builder = "0.45.0-alpha.3"
-nostr-sdk = "0.45.0-alpha.3"
-nostr-lmdb = "0.45.0-alpha.3"
+nostr-sdk = { version = "0.45.3", features = ["local-relay"] }
+nostr-lmdb = "0.45.3"
 ```
 
 ### 2. HTTP Module ([`src/http/mod.rs`](src/http/mod.rs))
diff --git a/grasp-audit/Cargo.toml b/grasp-audit/Cargo.toml
index 503c3c8..a89f2e9 100644
--- a/grasp-audit/Cargo.toml
+++ b/grasp-audit/Cargo.toml
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ path = "src/bin/grasp-audit.rs"
 
 [dependencies]
 # Nostr
-nostr-sdk = "0.45.0"
+nostr-sdk = "0.45.3"
 
 # Async
 tokio = { version = "1", features = ["full"] }