I can't say I can ever remember seeing a 'bug' that resulted in a loss of interface configuration like you describe.
Maybe the filesystem was so trashed that the configuration was lost, but in that case you'd have to do a lot more than just reassign interfaces.
So I suspect that maybe it's not quite exactly as you describe. But since you don't have a monitor hooked up when it fails, you can't really tell what happened for sure. When it does fail, you need to look back in the boot log and see what it's really complaining about. (Press scroll lock on the hardware console keyboard and then use the page up key to go back in the buffer, then scroll lock again to get out)
It wouldn't surprise me if it's related to that hardware, given its track record/reputation, but it's entirely possible it's a red herring and you're chasing the wrong end of the problem.