Linux crash on Intel iGPU (Mesa ANV): pipeline layout exceeds maxBoundDescriptorSets

[Benjamin da Silva Moreira]

Game Version​

2026.9.22.5482 (Linux build)

Operating System​

Linux – Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (GNOME, Wayland), kernel 7.0.0-34
GPU: Intel Iris Xe Graphics (ADL GT2, Alder Lake iGPU)
Driver: Mesa 26.0.8-1ubuntu0.3 (ANV / libvulkan_intel.so)

What Happened​

The game crashes every time, right after the world has loaded, just after the log line Ground clutter ecotype render data built. Output:

*** stack smashing detected ***: terminated

The backtrace from the core dump shows the abort inside libvulkan_intel.so, called directly from managed code:

#3  __stack_chk_fail (libc.so.6)
#4-#8 libvulkan_intel.so
#9+ JIT frames -> libcoreclr.so

With the Khronos validation layer enabled, the last message before the crash is:

VUID-VkPipelineLayoutCreateInfo-setLayoutCount-00286
vkCreatePipelineLayout(): pCreateInfo->setLayoutCount (10) exceeds the maxBoundDescriptorSets limit (8).

ANV reports maxBoundDescriptorSets = 8 and does not check this value itself, so a pipeline layout with 10 sets overflows the driver's internal array, which causes the stack smashing. NVIDIA and AMD drivers usually expose 32 or more sets, which would explain why this only affects Intel.

This may also be the root cause of the Intel crashes on Windows (Arc / Iris Xe) reported here:
Game crashes after loading is complete with Intel ARC A770 GPU

What Was Expected​

The game loads into the scene and renders normally. Pipeline layouts should respect VkPhysicalDeviceLimits::maxBoundDescriptorSets (8 on Intel).

Reproduction Steps​

1. Use a Linux system with an Intel Iris Xe iGPU (Alder Lake) and Mesa 26.0.8 (ANV)
2. Start ./KSA --debug (optional: VK_INSTANCE_LAYERS=VK_LAYER_KHRONOS_validation ./KSA --debug)
3. Start a new game (default situation, SolLite system)
4. Wait for loading to finish -> crash right after Ground clutter ecotype render data built; the validation layer reports setLayoutCount (10) > maxBoundDescriptorSets (8) just before it

Reproduction Rate​

Always

Additional Info​

• Video/Screenshots: n/a
• Save File: n/a (happens with a new game)
• Other Notes:
  • Other validation errors seen during the same run (not the direct cause of the crash):
    • vkCreateDescriptorPool(): pPoolSizes[3].type = VK_DESCRIPTOR_TYPE_ACCELERATION_STRUCTURE_KHR without VK_KHR_acceleration_structure (ray query is reported as unsupported)
    • vkCmdBlitImage(): dstImage has format VK_FORMAT_BC4_UNORM_BLOCK, which has no BLIT_DST support
    • vkCreateShaderModule(): SPIR-V declares StorageImageMultisample, but shaderStorageImageMultisample is not enabled
  • Also occurs at 1920x1080 without fractional scaling, so it is not related to resolution or Wayland.
  • Full validation log and backtrace attached (ksa_validation.log).

 

[Kiwi Shark]

Hello and welcome to the forums!

Unfortunately, KSA's tech stack does not currently support Intel iGPUs, most likely due to certain driver incompatibilities. KSA currently works best with a dedicated AMD or Nvidia GPU with at least 8GB of VRAM. The plan is to eventually look into development efforts to support more hardware, such as iGPUs, in the future.

Thank you for this detailed report though! I hope this will help the devs investigate the root issues down the road.