Alembic 4.24 vs 4.25 render issues (HELP)

Does anyone know when Alembic fur seems to render differently in 4.25 as supposed to 4.24. Exact same scene, all I did was upgrade to 4.25 and my fur strands are now darker and look thicker. Not the result I was hoping for. Please refer to the image. Is this a bug in 4.25?