diff --git a/boards/bootloaders/stm32h723/Cargo.toml b/boards/bootloaders/stm32h723/Cargo.toml
index 13fc2d16..89deadb8 100644
--- a/boards/bootloaders/stm32h723/Cargo.toml
+++ b/boards/bootloaders/stm32h723/Cargo.toml
@@ -15,8 +15,8 @@ test = false
 [dependencies]
 cortex-m = { version = "0.7", features = ["critical-section-single-core"] }
 cortex-m-rt = "0.7"
-defmt = {version = "0.3.1", optional = true}
-defmt-rtt = {version = "0.3.2", optional = true}
+defmt = {version = "0.3.8", optional = true}
+defmt-rtt = {version = "0.4.1", optional = true}
 rustBoot-hal = {path = "../../hal", default-features = false, features = ["stm32h723"]}
 rustBoot-update = {path = "../../update", features = ["stm32h723"]}
 
diff --git a/boards/hal/Cargo.toml b/boards/hal/Cargo.toml
index c7d22ec6..b48269d7 100644
--- a/boards/hal/Cargo.toml
+++ b/boards/hal/Cargo.toml
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ test = false
 [dependencies]
 # common dependencies
 cortex-m = { version = "0.7", features = ["critical-section-single-core"] }
-defmt = {version = "0.3.1", optional = true}
+defmt = {version = "0.3.8", optional = true}
 # platform specific dependencies for aarch64
 # [target.'cfg(target_arch = "aarch64")'.dependencies]
 aarch64-cpu = {version = "9.3.1", path = "./src/nxp/imx8mn/aarch64-cpu", optional = true}
diff --git a/boards/update/Cargo.toml b/boards/update/Cargo.toml
index 1cef0403..69a4a25c 100644
--- a/boards/update/Cargo.toml
+++ b/boards/update/Cargo.toml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ doctest = false
 test = false
 
 [dependencies]
-defmt = {version = "0.3.2", optional = true}
+defmt = {version = "0.3.8", optional = true}
 rustBoot = {path = "../../rustBoot", default-features = true, features = ["mcu"]}
 rustBoot-hal = {path = "../hal"}
 
diff --git a/boards/update/src/update/update_flash.rs b/boards/update/src/update/update_flash.rs
index 045cc3da..5ce30496 100644
--- a/boards/update/src/update/update_flash.rs
+++ b/boards/update/src/update/update_flash.rs
@@ -168,12 +168,11 @@ where
                         {
                             return Err(RustbootError::ECCError);
                         }
-                        if (!updt_part.hdr_ok
-                            || updt.verify_integrity::<SHA256_DIGEST_SIZE>().is_err()
-                            || updt.verify_authenticity::<HDR_IMG_TYPE_AUTH>().is_err())
-                        {
-                            panic!("firmware authentication failed");
+                        if (!updt_part.hdr_ok) {
+                            return Err(RustbootError::InvalidImage);
                         }
+                        updt.verify_integrity::<SHA256_DIGEST_SIZE>()?;
+                        updt.verify_authenticity::<HDR_IMG_TYPE_AUTH>()?;
                     }
                     // disallow downgrades
                     match boot {
@@ -272,25 +271,23 @@ where
     Interface: FlashInterface,
 {
     fn rustboot_start(self) -> ! {
+        let trigger_rollback = || -> Result<()> {
+            self.update_trigger();
+            self.rustboot_update(true)?;
+            Ok(())
+        };
         let mut boot = PartDescriptor::open_partition(Boot, self).unwrap();
         let updt = PartDescriptor::open_partition(Update, self).unwrap();
 
         // Check the BOOT partition for state - if it is still in TESTING, trigger rollback.
         if let ImageType::BootInTestingState(_v) = boot {
-            self.update_trigger();
-            match self.rustboot_update(true) {
-                Ok(_v) => {}
-                Err(_e) => {
-                    panic!("rollback failed.")
-                }
+            if trigger_rollback().is_err() {
+                panic!("rollback failed.");
             }
         // Check the UPDATE partition for state - if it is marked as UPDATING, trigger update.
         } else if let ImageType::UpdateInUpdatingState(_v) = updt {
-            match self.rustboot_update(false) {
-                Ok(_v) => {}
-                Err(_e) => {
-                    panic!("update-swap failed.")
-                }
+            if self.rustboot_update(false).is_err() {
+                /* If update cannot be performed, launch former boot partition by default */
             }
         } else {
             match boot {
diff --git a/rustBoot/Cargo.toml b/rustBoot/Cargo.toml
index 2d91f517..311092d0 100644
--- a/rustBoot/Cargo.toml
+++ b/rustBoot/Cargo.toml
@@ -24,7 +24,7 @@ version = "0.1.0"
 # common dependencies
 as-slice = "0.2.1"
 byteorder = {version = "1.4.3", default-features = false}
-defmt = {version = "0.3.1", optional = true}
+defmt = {version = "0.3.8", optional = true}
 log = {version = "0.4", default-features = false, optional = true}
 # rustBoot parser dependencies
 nom = {version = "7.1.0", default-features = false}
@@ -60,4 +60,4 @@ stm32f469 = ["mcu"]
 stm32h723 = ["mcu"]
 stm32f746 = ["mcu"]
 stm32f334 = ["mcu"]
-rp2040 = ["mcu"]
\ No newline at end of file
+rp2040 = ["mcu"]
diff --git a/rustBoot/src/image/image.rs b/rustBoot/src/image/image.rs
index 4205a25e..96ba1591 100644
--- a/rustBoot/src/image/image.rs
+++ b/rustBoot/src/image/image.rs
@@ -569,7 +569,7 @@ impl<'a, Part: ValidPart + Swappable, State: TypeState> RustbootImage<'a, Part,
                         let hasher = compute_img_hash::<Part, State, Sha256, N>(self, fw_size)?;
                         let computed_hash = hasher.finalize();
                         if computed_hash.as_slice() != stored_hash {
-                            panic!("..integrity check failed");
+                            return Err(RustbootError::IntegrityCheckFailed);
                         }
                         integrity_check = true;
                         Some(stored_hash.as_ptr())