macOS 15.4 causes nightly kernel panic (WindowServer freeze, M4 Pro)

Question

Level 1

40 points

macOS 15.4 causes nightly kernel panic (WindowServer freeze, M4 Pro)

Device: MacBook Pro M4 Pro

macOS Version: Sequoia 15.4 (clean install, build 24E248)

Previous Versions: 15.2 and 15.3 were 100% stable with no issues.

Issue: After updating to macOS 15.4, my MacBook Pro began rebooting unexpectedly during the night while the lid is closed and the machine is idle. This issue did not occur on previous versions (15.2 or 15.3) and only started after the 15.4 update.

System Setup: The system is almost fresh, with no third-party software installed beyond defaults. Only wired headphones are connected.

Important Notes:

No third-party kernel extensions installed
No external monitors, hubs, or docks
Power Nap enabled (default)
Clean install of 15.4 (not an upgrade in place)
Never had crashes or instability on 15.2 or 15.3

Crash Details:

An example crash occurred at ~03:23 AM on March 31, 2025. The panic log indicates an AOP (Always-On Processor) data abort: panic(cpu 10 caller 0xfffffe003791aef8): AOP DATA ABORT pc=0x0000000001091a00 Exception class=0x25 (Data Abort taken without a change in Exception level), IL=1, iss=0x6 far=0x0000000000000005

The log also references kernel extensions com.apple.driver.IOSlaveProcessor and com.apple.driver.RTBuddy, which seem related to the AOP handling low-level tasks like power management or audio processing. The crash appears to occur during a sleep/wake transition, as the log shows a sleep event at 0x67f2f282 and a wake event at 0x67f2f6a5, with the panic happening shortly after waking.

This issue might be related to the Always-On Processor failing during idle/sleep states, possibly tied to power management, audio, or sensor handling. It does not seem to involve the graphics subsystem (e.g., WindowServer or AGXMetal), as I initially suspected.

Request:

Can anyone advise if there’s a known workaround for this AOP-related crash? Is this a regression introduced in macOS 15.4? I’ve attached the full panic log below for reference.

Panic Log:

Panic log

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.4

Posted on Apr 7, 2025 12:04 AM

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Answer 1

Kossil Author

Level 1

40 points

Apr 27, 2025 5:47 AM in response to dhjdhj

After updating to Sequoia 15.4.1, I started experiencing kernel panics again. But this time for me the culprit turned out to be SoundSource. After uninstalling it, the panics completely disappeared and everything has been stable since then. Just wondering, are you using SoundSource too?

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Answer 2

Kossil Author

Level 1

40 points

May 2, 2025 3:40 AM in response to Kossil

Just a quick update — I had another kernel panic today while the MacBook Pro M4 Pro was sleeping with the lid closed.

This time, apps like SoundSource and Microsoft Edge were already removed, and although I still have a bunch of other third-party apps installed, I'm now 100% sure this isn't caused by any user software.

The crash log again shows system-level components like RTBuddy and IOSlaveProcessor, so it really looks like something deep in the OS — maybe firmware or a low-level driver issue.

Let’s hope Apple fixes it in one of the upcoming updates.

Here’s the panic message from the log: panic(cpu 3 caller 0xfffffe0039c56ef8): AOP DATA ABORT  
Exception class=0x25 (Data Abort taken without a change in Exception level)  
Faulting task: main(4) — RTKit: RTKit-2784.100.168.release  
Kexts in backtrace: com.apple.driver.RTBuddy(1.0), com.apple.driver.IOSlaveProcessor(1.0)

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Answer 3

May 1, 2025 2:45 PM in response to jasonyangshadow

same i have wired earphones connected to it on sleep mode. my mbp is just 10 days old. idk whats causing this, diagnostics shows its all fine. apple care says to get the mac replacedd

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Answer 4

Owl-53

Level 10

101,887 points

Apr 13, 2025 9:12 AM in response to jmbarry

jmbarry wrote:

Which Anti virus program are you using? I have been tracing crashes, and I can't see that Antivirus One that I use is doing that. Though they may have a unique name for their background process.

How do I uninstall Antivirus One from my … - Apple Community

Part of the Trend Micro family of Antivirus software

Utterly uses software for a Non Existent Issue - Viruses for macOS

There is a school of thought on how to Totally Remove this type of software

Once this type of software are installed and embedded into the computer Virus One

Start Over from Scratch

Heavy Handed - Yes ?

Effective in removing the AV Software - Yes

For Apple Silicon computer >> Use Disk Utility to erase a Mac with Apple silicon.

For Apple Intel computers >> Use Disk Utility to erase an Intel-based Mac followed by How to reinstall macOS

Always make a Time Machine Backup before proceeding

If going this route - I suggest Not using Startup Assist to migrate everything back.

This will probably Re-Introduce ( Virus One ) back into the Operating System

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Answer 5

w3b54g3

Level 1

48 points

Apr 14, 2025 5:48 PM in response to Kossil

Same Panic on brand new MBA M4 — clean install. Only 15.4 upgrade.

Returned the laptop and had it replaced with a new one. Performed clean install — only Apple and Apple Silicon Standard apps. Nothing unusual. After two days, the panic is back.

The last thing I installed before Panic came back was homebrew (ffmpeg, htop, yt-dlp)

Tearing my hair out!

Panic report (sent to Apple)

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Answer 6

w3b54g3

Level 1

48 points

Apr 27, 2025 10:50 AM in response to Kossil

Very disappointed that the bug is still not fixed after upgrading to 15.4.1. Brand new MBA M4. No gadgetry plugged in.

I carefully installed one Apple authorized app at a time, with testing and backup with every change. The panic started after I updated to 15.4.1 AND installed Proton Mail. Proton relies on Rosetta 2 to run.

My only insight is that it is Rosetta 2 that is causing the panic. It is next to impossible to uninstall, so I rolled back to 15.4.1 without Proton and Rosetta 2. Will see if that fixes it.

It is insane that Apple does not seem to be aware of the issue. I had four appointments with the 'Genius' people and I exchaned my MBA twice — this is my third one. And I have reported every crash.

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Answer 7

Kossil Author

Level 1

40 points

May 2, 2025 7:29 AM in response to Barney-15E

I always remove applications properly, primarily using the built-in uninstaller before resorting to manual deletion for programs like SoundSource and similar utilities. After uninstallation, I make sure to clean up any remnants using specialized cleanup tools that detect leftover files. Regarding the kernel panic issue, it occurred on my clean installation of Sequoia 15.4. I never experienced anything like this on previous versions (15.3 and earlier) - not even once - despite having numerous applications installed including SoundSource, AlDente, Microsoft Edge mentioned above, and others. Not a single kernel panic on those versions. I'm certain the problem lies with version 15.4 specifically, and I'm hopeful that Apple will acknowledge this issue and address it in an upcoming update.

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Answer 8

Barney-15E

Level 10

121,934 points

May 7, 2025 7:31 AM in response to w3b54g3

You all should contact Apple Support with that information. I doubt they will ever know about it unless you report it to them. I certainly haven't plugged into a headphone jack in about a decade. I thought I'd give it a try on my M2, but I don't even have a pair of headphones that plug into a mini-jack.

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Answer 9

Old Toad

Level 10

215,076 points

May 7, 2025 11:38 AM in response to BrianAtIntermatic

First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac. This documents describe what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community and Recognize and avoid phishing messages, phony support calls, and other scams - Apple Support.

There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs. There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.

Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear. They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware. Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.

There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is designed solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it. The free version is more than adequate for most users.

Unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's, school's or bank's servers, they provide false security from a privacy standpoint. Read these two articles: Public VPN's are anything but private and Security Risks: The Dangers of Using Free VPNs (eccu.edu).

My recommendation to you us to uninstall the antivirus application according to the developer's instructions.

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Answer 10

Apr 23, 2025 1:09 AM in response to jasonyangshadow

No headset in my case. Just a studio display and some hard drives. In safe mode overnight and no panic so far.

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Answer 11

steve626

Level 6

13,545 points

Apr 12, 2025 10:39 AM in response to jmbarry

jmbarry wrote:

Which Anti virus program are you using? I have been tracing crashes, and I can't see that Antivirus One that I use is doing that. Though they may have a unique name for their background process.

Any anti virus program can cause these problems. They don't help at all with Macs because Macs don't even allow administrator users to change the MacOS system volume anymore, which is a read only snapshot now, it can only be modified via Apple certified servers. There is no physical way to install a real virus in a Sequoia Mac. You can install malware by clicking on web sites that you should not, or actually installing such malware by using installers from questionable sources, but anti virus for Macs is a dinosaur that serves no purpose. You can use the well vetted Malwarebytes if you MUST have protection against malware.

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Answer 12

Apr 14, 2025 4:59 PM in response to Kossil

holly crap, yeah, I am also using Microsoft Edge browser. I will uninstall it immediately. I thought it was related to the usage of my plugged headphone, it turns out that it is related to browser, I will also diable the `wake for network access` option as well.

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Answer 13

Apr 22, 2025 12:39 AM in response to Kossil

+1

I'm also getting nightly kernel panics on a M2 Mini since updating to 15.4.1. No problems at all before updating. No other changes to system. Happening whilst unattended. Don't know what it is doing when it panics, keep finding it has restarted when I get home from work. Is set to not allow sleep so shouldn't be a sleep wake issue. No anti virus or Edge browser installed.

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Answer 14

Apr 27, 2025 7:42 AM in response to Kossil

Crashed for the 3rd time since updating to macOS 15.4.1; this happened after the computer was put to sleep with garageband open and wired headphones plugged-in. This is happening quite often right after upgrading.

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Answer 15

Apr 30, 2025 1:33 PM in response to Kossil

Brand new MBP M4 Pro. Upgraded from 15.4 to 15.4.1 this morning and now, after an hour or less, WindowServer starts consuming a lot of CPU, mouse clicks take up to 10 seconds for the OS to respond, volume pop up displays permanently and eventually have to hard boot. In another 30 to 60 minutes, same problem. Never had this problem before the OS update. How do I fix this???

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