Segfaults on launch libaudio.so / PulseAudio crash

steamopen Distro Family: NixOS

ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#13174 · opened 2026-05-08 by okwilkins · updated 2026-08-01 · 6 comments · github

Ookwilkins 2026-05-08 github

Your system information

Steam client version: 1778003620 (built May 5 2026)
Distribution: NixOS 26.05 (nixpkgs-unstable) on kernel 7.0.3 running Wayland
Opted into Steam client beta?: Yes — no difference
Have you checked for system updates?: Yes
Steam Logs: logs.tar.gz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080, driver 595.71.05 (open kernel module), mesa 26.0.6

Please describe your issue in as much detail as possible:

Steam segfaults on every launch. console-linux.txt shows XOpenIM() failed, LANG = en_GB.UTF-8 every session.

[2026-05-08 19:18:51] XOpenIM() failed, LANG = en_GB.UTF-8
[2026-05-08 19:18:51] XOpenIM() failed, LANG = en_GB.UTF-8XRRGetOutputInfo Workaround: initialized with override: 0 real: 0xe9e7d840
[2026-05-08 19:18:51] XRRGetCrtcInfo Workaround: initialized with override: 0 real: 0xe9e7c040
[2026-05-08 19:18:51] 05/08 19:18:51 minidumps folder is set to /tmp/dumps
[2026-05-08 19:18:51] 05/08 19:18:51 Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steamsysinfo)/version(1778003620)/tid(29803)
[2026-05-08 19:18:52] /home/oli/.local/share/Steam/steam.sh: line 966: 29653 Segmentation fault         (core dumped) "$STEAMROOT/$STEAMEXEPATH" "$@"

The faulting thread is in Steam's PulseAudio callback (libaudio.so → libpulse.so.0 → pa_pdispatch_run), with a second thread blocked in libaudio.so → do_system() → waitpid().

Related to #13045, #13062, and #13160 same symptoms but none of the fixes suggested there resolved this.

Faulting thread:

#0  libaudio.so + 0x4c592
#1  libpulse.so.0 + 0x1a1bf
#2  pa_pdispatch_run
#3  pa_mainloop_dispatch
#4  pa_mainloop_run

Second thread:

#0  __syscall_cancel_arch (glibc 2.42)
#1  _waitpid
#2  do_system
#3  libaudio.so + 0x44f6d
#4  steamui.so + 0x16b27bd

Here's the full coredump: steam-coredump.txt

What didn't help:

Kernels 6.18.26 and 7.0.3
NVIDIA open vs closed kernel module (open = true vs open = false)
Switching between nvidiaPackages.stable and nvidiaPackages.latest
Setting kernel.split_lock_mitigate = 0
hardware.graphics.enable32Bit = true
Downgrading mesa to 25.0.7 system-wide (as suggested in #13045/#13062)
SDL_AUDIODRIVER=dummy
Steam beta channel (-beta valve_beta)
Full wipe of ~/.local/share/Steam and fresh reinstall

The crash appears to be in Steam's PulseAudio init when receiving a dispatch event via PipeWire's PulseAudio compat layer.

Steps for reproducing this issue:

Run Steam on NixOS 26.05
Steam crashes immediately after the update/verification screen on every launch
Check console-linux.txt for XOpenIM() failed and coredumpctl for the backtrace above

Ookwilkins 2026-05-11 github

This comment fixed the issue: https://github.com/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/13178#issuecomment-4412963794

Running this fixed the issue: PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH=/nonexistent steam.

Bbpetid 2026-05-18 github

Might be related to sleep+audio devices changing, but I cannot reliably reproduce. I'm on full amd hardware, cachyos. systemctl --user restart pipewire pipewire-pulse wireplumber fixes it.

Stack trace

           PID: 116372 (steam)
           UID: 1000 (petid)
           GID: 1000 (petid)
        Signal: 11 (SEGV)
     Timestamp: Mon 2026-05-18 19:42:44 CEST (21min ago)
  Command Line: /home/petid/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam -srt-logger-opened
    Executable: /home/petid/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam
 Control Group: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/[email protected]/app.slice/app-niri-steam-116254.scope
          Unit: [email protected]
     User Unit: app-niri-steam-116254.scope
         Slice: user-1000.slice
     Owner UID: 1000 (petid)
       Boot ID: c2171254874c48b292d5417e6152be86
    Machine ID: ac7cb27c5e3342b0beb30f274dc48f83
      Hostname: nephthys
       Storage: /var/lib/systemd/coredump/core.steam.1000.c2171254874c48b292d5417e6152be86.116372.1779126164000000.>
  Size on Disk: 28.1M
       Message: Process 116372 (steam) of user 1000 dumped core.
                
                Stack trace of thread 116633:
                #0  0x00000000d207b592 n/a (libaudio.so + 0x4c592)
                #1  0x00000000f10721bf n/a (libpulse.so.0 + 0x1a1bf)
                #2  0x00000000f090225d n/a (libpulsecommon-1.1.so + 0x3225d)
                #3  0x00000000f0902660 pa_pdispatch_run (libpulsecommon-1.1.so + 0x32660)
                #4  0x00000000f10654dd n/a (libpulse.so.0 + 0xd4dd)
                #5  0x00000000f0907c33 n/a (libpulsecommon-1.1.so + 0x37c33)
                #6  0x00000000f08f1f98 n/a (libpulsecommon-1.1.so + 0x21f98)
                #7  0x00000000f107c5a5 pa_mainloop_dispatch (libpulse.so.0 + 0x245a5)
                #8  0x00000000f107ca83 pa_mainloop_iterate (libpulse.so.0 + 0x24a83)
                #9  0x00000000f107cb54 pa_mainloop_run (libpulse.so.0 + 0x24b54)
                [#10](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/10) 0x00000000f108df3e n/a (libpulse.so.0 + 0x35f3e)
                [#11](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/11) 0x00000000f09185b6 n/a (libpulsecommon-1.1.so + 0x485b6)
                [#12](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/12) 0x00000000f7c20828 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0xaf828)
                [#13](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/13) 0x00000000f7cee8a8 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x17d8a8)
                
                Stack trace of thread 116372:
                #0  0x00000000f7c2a62b n/a (libc.so.6 + 0xb962b)
                #1  0x00000000f7c1c376 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0xab376)
                #2  0x00000000f7cc9cd3 wait4 (libc.so.6 + 0x158cd3)
                #3  0x00000000f7cc9d2a __waitpid (libc.so.6 + 0x158d2a)
                #4  0x00000000f7bd155d n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x6055d)
                #5  0x00000000d2073f6d n/a (libaudio.so + 0x44f6d)
                #6  0x00000000d2074094 n/a (libaudio.so + 0x45094)
                #7  0x00000000f4cb371d n/a (steamui.so + 0x16b271d)
                #8  0x00000000f4cceaf7 n/a (steamui.so + 0x16cdaf7)
                #9  0x00000000f4cb32e7 n/a (steamui.so + 0x16b22e7)
                [#10](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/10) 0x00000000f4e514f3 n/a (steamui.so + 0x18504f3)
                [#11](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/11) 0x00000000f4d9c45e n/a (steamui.so + 0x179b45e)
                [#12](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/12) 0x00000000f4d375f0 n/a (steamui.so + 0x17365f0)
                [#13](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/13) 0x00000000f4c5a49c n/a (steamui.so + 0x165949c)
                [#14](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/14) 0x000000005689d76a n/a (/home/petid/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam + 0x2a076a)
                [#15](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/15) 0x000000005689ec1e n/a (/home/petid/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam + 0x2a1c1e)
                [#16](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/16) 0x000000005689f725 n/a (/home/petid/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam + 0x2a2725)
                [#17](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/17) 0x00000000f7b939b0 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x229b0)
                [#18](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/18) 0x00000000f7b93b0d __libc_start_main (libc.so.6 + 0x22b0d)
                [#19](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/19) 0x0000000056884031 n/a (/home/petid/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam + 0x287031)
                ELF object binary architecture: Intel 80386

Device specs

System:
  Kernel: 7.0.8-1-cachyos arch: x86_64 bits: 64
  Desktop: niri v: N/A Distro: CachyOS
Machine:
  Type: Desktop Mobo: Micro-Star model: MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI (MS-7E62)
    v: 2.0 serial: <superuser required> Firmware: UEFI vendor: American
    Megatrends LLC. v: 2.A53 date: 03/20/2026
CPU:
  Info: 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 9700X [MT MCP] speed (MHz): avg: 2209
    min/max: 622/5735
Graphics:
  Device-1: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Navi 48 [Radeon RX 9070/9070
    XT/9070 GRE] driver: amdgpu v: kernel
  Device-2: Advanced Micro Devices [AMD/ATI] Granite Ridge [Radeon Graphics]
    driver: amdgpu v: kernel
  Device-3: Z-Star Micro ZC0303 Webcam driver: gspca_zc3xx type: USB
  Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.22 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.11
    compositor: niri driver: X: loaded: amdgpu unloaded: modesetting
    dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu resolution: 1920x1080~180Hz
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 vendor: amd mesa v: 26.1.0-arch2.1 renderer: AMD Ryzen
    7 9700X 8-Core Processor (radeonsi raphael_mendocino ACO DRM 3.64
    7.0.8-1-cachyos)
  Info: Tools: api: eglinfo, glxinfo, vulkaninfo gpu: amdgpu_top,lact
    wl: wlr-randr x11: xprop,xrandr
Network:
  Device-1: Qualcomm WCN785x Wi-Fi 7 320MHz 2x2 [FastConnect 7800]
    driver: ath12k_wifi7_pci
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8126 5GbE driver: r8169
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 2.79 TiB used: 1.26 TiB (45.0%)
Info:
  Memory: total: 60 GiB note: est. available: 60.2 GiB used: 7.56 GiB (12.6%)
  Processes: 464 Uptime: 21h 42m Shell: fish inxi: 3.3.40

Ookwilkins 2026-05-19 github

Thanks @bpetid, that worked for me too.

Ookwilkins 2026-05-28 github

This problem seems to be fixed in client version 1779918128 built May 27 2026 21:21:12.

Ookwilkins 2026-06-02 github

The problem is back in client version 1780352834 built Jun 1 2026 22:04:34.

JJoeWhizer 2026-07-31 github

Hi all,

I believe I am seeing a related Steam Linux audio regression on Arch Linux. I don't get the same segfaults, or error messages. But the same workaround stopping the crashes. Steam was crashing now and then since quite some weeks now, but since the recent updates it rendered useless, and crashed 1-2 minutes right after start.

Here is my summary:

System

Steam client build: 1785187029 also tested on beta client 1785347151
Distribution: Arch Linux
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Ti
NVIDIA driver: 610.43.03
libpulse: 17.0+r98+gb096704c0-1
lib32-libpulse: 17.0+r98+gb096704c0-1
PulseAudio server: native PulseAudio 17
pactl info: Server Name: pulseaudio
PipeWire 1:1.6.8-1 is installed, but pipewire-pulse and WirePlumber are not installed.

Symptoms

Steam repeatedly crashed after at most about two minutes, even while idle. Before each crash, the UI became slow and downloads showed a burst/pause pattern.

The system was not out of memory:

62 GiB RAM total, about 49 GiB available
16 GiB swap mostly unused
no systemd user-slice memory limit

Steam itself printed errors such as:

***** OUT OF MEMORY! attempted allocation size: 262144 ****
src/tier0/memstd.cpp (3039) : Fatal assert; application exiting

The coredump was a SIGABRT from a steamclient.so worker thread.

Stack trace of thread 115325:
#0  0x00000000f7f4f2ec __kernel_vsyscall (linux-gate.so.1 + 0x22ec)
#1  0x00000000f7c2a33f n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9933f)
#2  0x00000000f7bca987 raise (libc.so.6 + 0x39987)
#3  0x00000000f7bb127d abort (libc.so.6 + 0x2027d)
#4  0x00000000e2194a9b n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2e19a9b)
#5  0x00000000e21942e4 n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2e192e4)
#6  0x00000000e219432d n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2e1932d)
#7  0x00000000e219449b n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2e1949b)
#8  0x00000000e21948eb n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2e198eb)
#9  0x00000000e2194998 n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2e19998)
[#10](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/10) 0x00000000e19034ff n/a (steamclient.so + 0x25884ff)
[#11](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/11) 0x00000000e0dc1afb n/a (steamclient.so + 0x1a46afb)
[#12](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/12) 0x00000000e0dc38c5 n/a (steamclient.so + 0x1a488c5)
[#13](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/13) 0x00000000e0b2398c n/a (steamclient.so + 0x17a898c)
[#14](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/14) 0x00000000e2112ff7 n/a (steamclient.so + 0x2d97ff7)
[#15](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/15) 0x00000000f37e17ae _ZN16SteamThreadTools7CThread22ThreadExceptionWrapperEPv (libtier0_s.so + 0x337ae)
[#16](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/16) 0x00000000f37dec1e n/a (libtier0_s.so + 0x30c1e)
[#17](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/17) 0x00000000f37df4e0 CatchAndWriteMiniDumpExForVoidPtrFn (libtier0_s.so + 0x314e0)
[#18](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/18) 0x00000000f37df528 CatchAndWriteMiniDumpForVoidPtrFn (libtier0_s.so + 0x31528)
[#19](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/19) 0x00000000f37e49d2 _ZN16SteamThreadTools7CThread10ThreadProcEPv (libtier0_s.so + 0x369d2)
[#20](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/20) 0x00000000f7c27dd0 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x96dd0)
[#21](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/21) 0x00000000f7ccb4f8 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x13a4f8)

Stack trace of thread 114769:
#0  0x00000000f7c3173b n/a (libc.so.6 + 0xa073b)
#1  0x00000000f7c23c8e n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x92c8e)
#2  0x00000000f7c7f6d3 __clock_nanosleep_time64 (libc.so.6 + 0xee6d3)
#3  0x00000000f7c926fe __nanosleep (libc.so.6 + 0x1016fe)
#4  0x00000000f7cca6d2 usleep (libc.so.6 + 0x1396d2)
#5  0x0000000056885bf1 n/a (steam + 0x2e3bf1)
#6  0x0000000056885d5d n/a (steam + 0x2e3d5d)
#7  0x0000000056846a70 n/a (steam + 0x2a4a70)
#8  0x000000005683e913 SteamBootstrapper_GetForwardedCommandLine (steam + 0x29c913)
#9  0x00000000f50183ca n/a (steamui.so + 0x180b3ca)
[#10](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/10) 0x00000000f50228de n/a (steamui.so + 0x18158de)
[#11](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/11) 0x00000000f4fbd019 n/a (steamui.so + 0x17b0019)
[#12](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/12) 0x00000000f4ed57e4 n/a (steamui.so + 0x16c87e4)
[#13](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/13) 0x00000000f4ed792b n/a (steamui.so + 0x16ca92b)
[#14](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/14) 0x00000000f4ed9dca n/a (steamui.so + 0x16ccdca)
[#15](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/15) 0x000000005684118a n/a (steam + 0x29f18a)
[#16](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/16) 0x000000005684263e n/a (steam + 0x2a063e)
[#17](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/17) 0x0000000056843175 n/a (steam + 0x2a1175)
[#18](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/18) 0x00000000f7bb3640 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x22640)
[#19](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/19) 0x00000000f7bb379e __libc_start_main (libc.so.6 + 0x2279e)
[#20](/issue/ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/20) 0x0000000056829031 n/a (steam + 0x287031)
ELF object binary architecture: Intel 80386

Workaround results

Starting Steam with:
PULSE_SERVER=/dev/null steam

prevented the crashes, but disabled audio as expected.

Starting Steam with:
PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH=/nonexistent steam

also prevented the crashes, while Steam remained stable for much longer than before. UI responsiveness and downloads returned to normal. Native game audio was tested successfully with few games, but audio only works now when I have PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH=/run/user/1000/pulse as launch option.

This strongly suggests that the reachable PulseAudio initialization/response path is triggering the Steam client failure, even with a native PulseAudio server rather than pipewire-pulse.

Thanks,
Joe

Launch options

SDL_AUDIODRIVER=dummy`x1 2026-05

Upstream links

ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux/issues/13178x1 2026-05