diff --git a/deployments/compose/docker-compose.dev.yml b/deployments/compose/docker-compose.dev.yml
index 696a289e30..f16c9e303e 100644
--- a/deployments/compose/docker-compose.dev.yml
+++ b/deployments/compose/docker-compose.dev.yml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ services:
 
   # The CometBFT node
   cometbft-node0:
-    image: "docker.io/cometbft/cometbft:v0.37.5"
+    image: "docker.io/cometbft/cometbft:v0.37.9"
     ports:
       - "26656:26656"
       - "26657:26657"
diff --git a/deployments/compose/docker-compose.yml b/deployments/compose/docker-compose.yml
index 687e7ef030..a17e523bb1 100644
--- a/deployments/compose/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/deployments/compose/docker-compose.yml
@@ -57,7 +57,7 @@ services:
 
   # The CometBFT node
   cometbft-node0:
-    image: "docker.io/cometbft/cometbft:v0.37.5"
+    image: "docker.io/cometbft/cometbft:v0.37.9"
     ports:
       - "26656:26656"
       - "26657:26657"
diff --git a/deployments/scripts/install-cometbft b/deployments/scripts/install-cometbft
index 56825fc0e5..efc9059c35 100755
--- a/deployments/scripts/install-cometbft
+++ b/deployments/scripts/install-cometbft
@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ set -euo pipefail
 
 
 # Sane defaults
-COMETBFT_VERSION="${COMETBFT_VERSION:-0.37.5}"
+COMETBFT_VERSION="${COMETBFT_VERSION:-0.37.9}"
 
 # Download and extract
 cometbft_download_url="https://github.com/cometbft/cometbft/releases/download/v${COMETBFT_VERSION}/cometbft_${COMETBFT_VERSION}_linux_amd64.tar.gz"
diff --git a/docs/guide/src/cometbft_version.md b/docs/guide/src/cometbft_version.md
index ac986b5fb6..06fd75ad42 100644
--- a/docs/guide/src/cometbft_version.md
+++ b/docs/guide/src/cometbft_version.md
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v0.37.5
+v0.37.9
diff --git a/docs/guide/src/node/pd/install.md b/docs/guide/src/node/pd/install.md
index 5c88694e49..dd5047270d 100644
--- a/docs/guide/src/node/pd/install.md
+++ b/docs/guide/src/node/pd/install.md
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ There's also a one-liner install script available on the release page, which wil
 ### Installing CometBFT
 
 You'll need to have [CometBFT installed](https://docs.cometbft.com/v0.37/guides/install) on your system to join your node to the testnet.
-You must use a specific version of CometBFT, `{{ #include ../../cometbft_version.md }}`, which you can download
-[from the CometBFT releases page](https://github.com/cometbft/cometbft/releases/tag/{{ #include ../../cometbft_version.md }}).
-If you prefer to compile from source instead, make sure you are compiling version `{{ #include ../../cometbft_version.md }}`.
+You must use a compatible version of CometBFT. Any version in the `v0.37.x` series will work, such as `{{ #include ../../cometbft_version.md }}`,
+which you can download [from the CometBFT releases page](https://github.com/cometbft/cometbft/releases/tag/{{ #include ../../cometbft_version.md }}).
+If you prefer to compile from source instead, make sure you are compiling the correct version by checking out its tag
+in the CometBFT repo before building.
diff --git a/docs/guide/src/penumbra_version.md b/docs/guide/src/penumbra_version.md
index cb1b2df51a..79460ed956 100644
--- a/docs/guide/src/penumbra_version.md
+++ b/docs/guide/src/penumbra_version.md
@@ -1 +1 @@
-v0.79.0
+v0.79.1
diff --git a/flake.nix b/flake.nix
index 33a2b24fca..429d30f421 100644
--- a/flake.nix
+++ b/flake.nix
@@ -23,10 +23,13 @@
         let
           # Define versions of Penumbra and CometBFT
           penumbraRelease = null; # Use the local working copy
+          # To update the cometbft hash values, run:
+          # nix-prefetch-git --url https://github.com/cometbft/cometbft --rev <tag>
+          # and review the output.
           cometBftRelease = {
-            version = "0.37.5";
-            sha256 = "sha256-wNVHsifieAtZgedavCEJLgG0kRDqUhG4Lk5ciTPoNzI=";
-            vendorHash = "sha256-JPEGMa0HDesEtKFvgLUP2UfTB0DlParepE2p+n06Igc=";
+            version = "0.37.9";
+            sha256 = "sha256-4LUdDlDog4kbiwyGo5fZEvtDXa6sIm+SKlSBWq1angc=";
+            vendorHash = "sha256-0iqI/Z8rqDyQ7JqSrsqA9kADqF6qZy8NxTDNjAYYHts=";
           };
 
           # Set up for Rust builds, pinned to the Rust toolchain version in the Penumbra repository
@@ -109,6 +112,7 @@
               cargo-watch
               cometbft
               just
+              nix-prefetch-scripts
               postgresql
               protobuf
               rocksdb