diff --git a/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config.go b/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config.go
index 0d03dd056d3..773a1c6f517 100644
--- a/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config.go
+++ b/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config.go
@@ -32,6 +32,11 @@ var (
 	ConfigUpdateEventVersion0 = common.Hash{}
 )
 
+var (
+	ErrUnknownEventVersion = errors.New("unknown SystemConfig event version")
+	ErrUnknownEventType    = errors.New("unknown SystemConfig event type")
+)
+
 // UpdateSystemConfigWithL1Receipts filters all L1 receipts to find config updates and applies the config updates to the given sysCfg
 // Updates are applied individually, and any malformed or invalid updates are ignored.
 // Any errors encountered during the update process are returned as a multierror.
@@ -79,7 +84,7 @@ func ProcessSystemConfigUpdateLogEvent(destSysCfg *eth.SystemConfig, ev *types.L
 	// indexed 0
 	version := ev.Topics[1]
 	if version != ConfigUpdateEventVersion0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf("unrecognized SystemConfig update event version: %s", version)
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", ErrUnknownEventVersion, version)
 	}
 	// indexed 1
 	updateType := ev.Topics[2]
@@ -150,11 +155,11 @@ func ProcessSystemConfigUpdateLogEvent(destSysCfg *eth.SystemConfig, ev *types.L
 		destSysCfg.DAFootprintGasScalar = daFootprintGasScalar
 		return nil
 	default:
-		return fmt.Errorf("unrecognized L1 sysCfg update type: %s", updateType)
+		return fmt.Errorf("%w: %s", ErrUnknownEventType, updateType)
 	}
 }
 
-var ErrParsingSystemConfig = NewCriticalError(errors.New("error parsing system config"))
+var ErrParsingSystemConfig = errors.New("error parsing system config")
 
 func parseSystemConfigUpdateBatcher(data []byte) (common.Address, error) {
 	reader := bytes.NewReader(data)
diff --git a/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config_test.go b/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config_test.go
index 87a3bc1e291..8317587543a 100644
--- a/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config_test.go
+++ b/op-node/rollup/derive/system_config_test.go
@@ -387,6 +387,25 @@ func TestUpdateSystemConfigWithL1Receipts_Atomicity(t *testing.T) {
 			},
 			Data: []byte{0x00}, // insufficient bytes for pointer/length -> parse error
 		}
+		// Future / unknown event type
+		futureLogType := &types.Log{
+			Address: l1Addr,
+			Topics: []common.Hash{
+				ConfigUpdateEventABIHash,
+				ConfigUpdateEventVersion0,
+				common.Hash{0: 'a', 31: 7}, // test assumes this is not a known event type
+			},
+		}
+		// Future / unknown event version
+		futureLogVersion := &types.Log{
+			Address: l1Addr,
+			Topics: []common.Hash{
+				ConfigUpdateEventABIHash,
+				common.Hash{31: 1}, // test assumes this is not a known event version
+				SystemConfigUpdateBatcher,
+			},
+			Data: batcherData,
+		}
 		receipts := []*types.Receipt{
 			{
 				Status: types.ReceiptStatusSuccessful,
@@ -396,6 +415,14 @@ func TestUpdateSystemConfigWithL1Receipts_Atomicity(t *testing.T) {
 				Status: types.ReceiptStatusSuccessful,
 				Logs:   []*types.Log{malformedGasLog},
 			},
+			{
+				Status: types.ReceiptStatusSuccessful,
+				Logs:   []*types.Log{futureLogType},
+			},
+			{
+				Status: types.ReceiptStatusSuccessful,
+				Logs:   []*types.Log{futureLogVersion},
+			},
 		}
 		err = UpdateSystemConfigWithL1Receipts(&sysCfg, receipts, &cfg, 0)
 		// Error should be returned due to malformed update, but valid updates should apply
@@ -404,6 +431,11 @@ func TestUpdateSystemConfigWithL1Receipts_Atomicity(t *testing.T) {
 		require.Equal(t, newBatcher, sysCfg.BatcherAddr)
 		// Confirm invalid update did not apply; GasLimit remains unchanged
 		require.Equal(t, initial.GasLimit, sysCfg.GasLimit)
+		// Confirm error contains expected messages
+		require.ErrorContains(t, err, "invalid pointer field")
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, ErrParsingSystemConfig)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, ErrUnknownEventType)
+		require.ErrorIs(t, err, ErrUnknownEventVersion)
 	})
 
 	t.Run("applies multiple updates within a single receipt", func(t *testing.T) {