Constant kernel panic/Ventura 13.2.1/MacBook Pro M2 2023

I've bought new MacBook with M2 processor and get constant kernel panic.

  1. Reboot in safe mode - didn't help
  2. Repair hard disk with First Aid - didn't help
  3. Reinstall OS Ventura - didn't help


Analysing logs I found that the panicked core is always core 5.

I did the load test where I've got 98% CPU(all cores) load (several processes with 1100% load) and 95GB RAM allocated for process (data is from Activity Monitor). Result - no panic.


Then I realised that the panicked application is the app which is using GPU helpers like Google Chrome, Trading View, Visual Studio Code, Brave etc, and my assumption it could be a hardware acceleration feature.


Any ideas @Apple?










MacBook Pro 16″

Posted on Mar 2, 2023 3:25 AM

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Posted on Mar 14, 2023 5:22 PM

I am not a macOS software expert, but I don't see anything software wise of real concern. I haven't seen OpenVPN on many EtreCheck reports though so that is a bit unusual...make sure to check whether others are having any issues with it on Ventura and Apple Silicon Macs.


I wish I knew what "FED" was referring as that is the best clue. Unfortunately the only things you can really do are the following in order to determine if you have a hardware or software issue here.


Uninstall the third party software listed in the EtreCheck report under "System Extensions", "Launch Agents", and "Launch Daemons" as these items are tied to lower levels of macOS and are the most likely to cause Kernel Panics. Or you can perform a clean install of macOS by erasing the "drive" (aka "Macintosh HD") followed by reinstalling macOS, or you can "Restore" the firmware which resets the security enclave as well as erasing the internal SSD & pushing a clean OS onto the internal SSD. Both of these processes destroy all data on the internal SSD. The "Restore" should be the easier and better option since it does a bit more than just install a clean OS. You need to test the Mac with a clean install before installing any third party apps, and before restoring/migrating from a backup. If you get Kernel Panics under these conditions, then it means there is a hardware issue which needs repaired since the laptop is in a factory fresh state which should not cause any failures.


Make sure to disconnect all external devices from the Mac when testing since one of them could be causing a problem.


If you are using File Sharing or connecting this Mac to another computer to access files, then maybe see how the laptop operates when not connected to another computer to share files.


You can also try running the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Unfortunately the only useful diagnostic is one which reports an error (or freezes the computer during testing).


You may also want to run Disk Utility First Aid on the hidden Container in case there is an issue with the file system. Within Disk Utility you may need to click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Even if First Aid says everything is "Ok", click "Show Details" and scroll back through the report to see if any unfixed errors are listed. If there are any unfixed errors listed, then you will need to run First Aid from Recovery Mode, otherwise you will need to erase the "drive" to perform a clean install of macOS, or perform a "Restore"....followed by migrating/restoring from a backup.


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26 replies

Mar 14, 2023 12:04 PM in response to Owl-53

Hello HWTech

Thanks for explanation about kexts.


In all (ALL) reports I see this text doesn't matter which process(App) was panicked. (or smbfs)


last started kext at 10468411905: com.apple.filesystems.autofs	3.0 (addr 0xfffffe00108bdb50, size 5904)\
loaded kexts:\
com.apple.filesystems.autofs	3.0\
com.apple.driver.AppleTopCaseHIDEventDriver	6000.22\


Does it mean that the app tried to access filesystem and got crashed by throwing error from kext?



Mar 30, 2023 3:02 AM in response to Old Toad

Thanks for this info. It is useful for regular users, I believe, and related to VPN providers. From the article: "The VPN provider can see all your traffic, and do with it what they want - including logging."

Yes, it is very important to understand this and be aware of it.

But, it is not my case, because I use private p2p bridges on own servers, no any VPN providers, and BTW, I developed one of the popular VPN service :)

Mar 30, 2023 10:02 AM in response to den.bilyk

den.bilyk wrote:

Thanks for this info. It is useful for regular users, I believe, and related to VPN providers. From the article: "The VPN provider can see all your traffic, and do with it what they want - including logging."
Yes, it is very important to understand this and be aware of it.
But, it is not my case, because I use private p2p bridges on own servers, no any VPN providers, and BTW, I developed one of the popular VPN service :)

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Constant kernel panic/Ventura 13.2.1/MacBook Pro M2 2023

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