protonscr

Steam Linux client segfaults after GpuTopology on Arch/Hyprland/NVIDIA 595.71.05

steamclosed Distro Family: Arch
ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#13178 · opened 2026-05-09 by MartinRanft · updated 2026-05-11 · 4 comments · github
MMartinRanft 2026-05-09 github

Steam no longer starts after a Steam client update on 2026-05-09. It verifies the installation, runs GpuTopology successfully, then immediately exits with Segmentation fault (core dumped).

This reproduces with the native Arch package and with the Flathub Flatpak version. The Steam client was working before logging out and back in; after the login Steam updated itself and started crashing.

System information

  • Distribution: Arch Linux rolling
  • Kernel: Linux helba 7.0.3-arch1-2 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Fri, 01 May 2026 15:49:22 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux
  • Session: Hyprland / Wayland
  • Hyprland: 0.54.3-4
  • Xwayland: 24.1.11-1
  • Steam package: steam 1.0.0.85-6
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
  • NVIDIA driver: 595.71.05
  • NVIDIA packages:
    • nvidia-open 595.71.05-3
    • nvidia-utils 595.71.05-2
    • lib32-nvidia-utils 595.71.05-1
  • Vulkan loader:
    • vulkan-icd-loader 1.4.341.0-1
    • lib32-vulkan-icd-loader 1.4.341.0-1
  • Vulkan device:
    • deviceName = NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
    • driverID = DRIVER_ID_NVIDIA_PROPRIETARY
    • driverInfo = 595.71.05

Steam client versions observed

Before the issue, Steam was launching with:

Startup - updater built May  5 2026 16:20:03

After login on 2026-05-09, Steam updated and then launched with:

Startup - updater built May  8 2026 22:40:27
Steam Client launched with: '/home/martin/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam' '-srt-logger-opened' '-silent'
appid(steam)/version(1778281814)

After that update the crash is reproducible.

Reproduction steps

  1. Start Steam on Arch Linux / Hyprland / NVIDIA 595.71.05.
  2. Steam verifies installation.
  3. Steam runs GpuTopology and detects the RTX 4090 correctly.
  4. Steam immediately segfaults.

Native Steam log excerpt

[2026-05-09 17:36:13] steam.sh[675281]: Running Steam on arch rolling 64-bit
[2026-05-09 17:36:13] steam.sh[675281]: STEAM_RUNTIME is enabled automatically
[2026-05-09 17:36:13] steam.sh[675281]: Steam client's requirements are satisfied
[2026-05-09 17:36:13] Startup - updater built May  8 2026 22:40:27
[2026-05-09 17:36:13] Startup - Steam Client launched with: '/home/martin/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam' '-srt-logger-opened' '-silent'
[2026-05-09 17:36:13] Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1778281814)/tid(675441)
[2026-05-09 17:36:19] Running query: 1 - GpuTopology
[2026-05-09 17:36:20] Response: gpu_topology {
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]   gpus {
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     id: 1
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     name: "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090"
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     vram_size_bytes: 24146608128
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     driver_id: k_EGpuDriverId_NvidiaProprietary
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     driver_version_major: 595
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     driver_version_minor: 71
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     driver_version_patch: 5
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]     luid: 0
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]   }
[2026-05-09 17:36:20]   default_gpu_id: 1
[2026-05-09 17:36:20] }
[2026-05-09 17:36:20] Exit code: 0
[2026-05-09 17:36:20] Saving response to: /tmp/steamjlJDeh - 50 bytes
[2026-05-09 17:36:20] /home/martin/.local/share/Steam/steam.sh: line 966: 675441 Segmentation fault         (core dumped) "$STEAMROOT/$STEAMEXEPATH" "$@"

Flatpak Steam also reproduces

Installed and tested:

flatpak install --user flathub com.valvesoftware.Steam
flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam -silent

Flatpak Steam also updates to client version 1778281814, runs GpuTopology, then segfaults:

steam.sh[2]: Running Steam on org.freedesktop.platform 25.08 64-bit
Startup - updater built May  8 2026 22:40:27
Startup - Steam Client launched with: '/home/martin/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/ubuntu12_32/steam' '-srt-logger-opened' '-no-cef-sandbox' '-no-cef-sandbox' '-silent'
Init: Installing breakpad exception handler for appid(steam)/version(1778281814)/tid(1216)
Running query: 1 - GpuTopology
Response: gpu_topology {
  gpus {
    id: 1
    name: "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090"
    vram_size_bytes: 24146608128
    driver_id: k_EGpuDriverId_NvidiaProprietary
    driver_version_major: 595
    driver_version_minor: 71
    driver_version_patch: 5
    luid: 0
  }
  default_gpu_id: 1
}
Exit code: 0
/home/martin/.var/app/com.valvesoftware.Steam/.local/share/Steam/steam.sh: line 966:  1216 Segmentation fault         (core dumped) "$STEAMROOT/$STEAMEXEPATH" "$@"

Workarounds tested

All of these still reproduce the crash:

SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 /usr/bin/steam -silent
LANG=en_US.UTF-8 LC_ALL=en_US.UTF-8 /usr/bin/steam -silent
DISABLE_MANGOHUD=1 DISABLE_GAMESCOPE_WSI=1 /usr/bin/steam -silent
/usr/bin/steam -clientbeta publicbeta -silent
SRT_USE_HOST_LIBRARIES=1 /usr/bin/steam -silent
VK_LOADER_DRIVERS_SELECT='*nvidia*' /usr/bin/steam -silent
/usr/bin/steam -no-cef-sandbox -silent
flatpak run com.valvesoftware.Steam -silent

Testing STEAM_RUNTIME=0 did not reach the same crash because missing 32-bit host libraries prevented Steam from loading steamui.so.

Expected behavior

Steam should start normally after verifying installation.

Actual behavior

Steam exits with Segmentation fault (core dumped) immediately after successful GpuTopology.

MMartinRanft 2026-05-09 github

Update — root cause identified, original report focused on the wrong symptom.

After running the client under strace, the CGpuTopology: failed to run gpu topology query line in the log is not the crash point — it's a benign message that has been present in the logs for days,
including during sessions where Steam ran fine. The actual crash is a NULL-pointer dereference during PulseAudio client init, immediately after GpuTopology completes successfully.

Crash signature

PID 764937 (steam subprocess)
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/home/martin/.config/pulse/cookie",  O_RDONLY|O_NOCTTY|O_LARGEFILE|O_CLOEXEC) = 118                                                                                                         
openat(AT_FDCWD, "/etc/machine-id",                    O_RDONLY|O_LARGEFILE|O_CLOEXEC)         = 122                                                                                                          
--- SIGSEGV {si_signo=SIGSEGV, si_code=SEGV_MAPERR, si_addr=NULL} ---                                                                                                                                         
+++ killed by SIGSEGV (core dumped) +++

steam.sh: Zeile 966: <pid> Speicherzugriffsfehler (Speicherabzug geschrieben) (German for Segmentation fault (core dumped)).

Reliable workaround

Launching Steam with PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH=/nonexistent makes the client run cleanly through the PA-init code path:

PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH=/nonexistent /usr/bin/steam

With this set, the subprocess logs three benign Failed to create secure directory (/nonexistent): Permission denied warnings instead of crashing, and the client reaches its normal idle state (sees Steam Runtime Launch Service: starting and clean Shutdown on exit). This was reproduced multiple times.

What was ruled out

  • GpuTopology: query returns Exit code: 0 with the correct RTX 4090 details on every run (including crashing runs). Not related.
  • Pulse cookie corruption: deleted ~/.config/pulse/cookie; client still crashes at the same point. The cookie content is not the trigger — the crash is in the PA-init code path itself.
  • EGL Wayland packages: egl-wayland and egl-wayland2 coexisted on the system since May 6 and Steam ran fine with both for two days. Not related.
  • NVIDIA driver / kernel module: identical (595.71.05, nvidia-open) on working and crashing runs.
  • Wayland session vs XWayland: same behavior reported with SDL_VIDEODRIVER=x11 / GDK_BACKEND=x11.
  • -no-cef-sandbox flag: does not help (the crashing PID is not a CEF subprocess; it's a sibling of steamsysinfo that initializes audio).

Regression

  • Last working build: 1778003620 (May 8) — ran fine under identical system config.
  • First crashing build: 1778281814 (May 9, after self-update). Crash is 100% reproducible per launch.

Environment

  • Distro: Arch Linux rolling
  • Kernel: 7.0.3-arch1-2
  • Session: Hyprland (Wayland)
  • GPU / driver: NVIDIA RTX 4090 / nvidia-open 595.71.05-3, nvidia-utils 595.71.05-2
  • Audio: PipeWire 1:1.6.4-1 with pipewire-pulse (PA protocol 35, server reachable via pactl info)
  • Steam Client: 1778281814

Looks like a regression in the new client's PA initialization path. The crash happens in a subprocess that openat()s the pulse cookie + /etc/machine-id and then dereferences a NULL pointer before the
next syscall — likely in pa_context_connect() or one of the helpers called from there.

Yyurihikari 2026-05-10 github

Thank you Martin, I've been fighting that for hours

I need to add that the workaround make some games or non steam games using other versions of Proton have no sound.
For those game, you can run the temporary workaround and add in launch args those lines

PULSE_LATENCY_MSEC=60 PULSE_RUNTIME_PATH=/run/user/$(id -u)/pulse %command%

This will force proton to connect to pulse using the real Pulse socket runtime path, which was "bypassed" by the workaround.

Hope that helps other people while waiting for a fix from Valve.

Kkisak-valve maintainer 2026-05-10 github

Hello @MartinRanft, this is the same issue as #13174 and looks like a pipewire regression (https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/pipewire/pipewire/-/work_items/5258) at this point. Closing in favor of the older issue report.

Ookwilkins 2026-05-11 github

Thank you @MartinRanft, spend so long trying to figure this one out! You got much further than I.
I will reference your fix above in my issue.

Launch options