Broadcom Sta/wl Drivers causes random kernel panics on ubuntu raring

[Michele Giacomoli]

While starting from Ubuntu 11.10 to 12.10 wl drivers worked like a charm on my broadcom 4312, it seems that the drivers in ubuntu 13.04 started causing kernel panics while using the network. The version I'm using is a fresh install of ubuntu 13.04 amd64 plus all the updates as of today and the home folder restored from an ubuntu 12.10 backup, but I don't think it could make the difference as the freeze happens also when logged as a "just created" user.
I'm pretty sure this problem is cause of broadcom drivers (or broadcom related network stuff) because as soon as I blacklisted wl, mac80211 and cfg80211 modules and plugged in an usb ralink wifi card it stopped to freeze.

Ubuntu version: 13.04 64 bits
Package version: 6.20.155.1+bdcom-0ubuntu6

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 13.04
Package: bcmwl-kernel-source 6.20.155.1+bdcom-0ubuntu6
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.8.0-7.15-generic 3.8.0
Uname: Linux 3.8.0-7-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: wl fglrx
ApportVersion: 2.8-0ubuntu4
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Feb 27 15:15:33 2013
InstallationDate: Installed on 2013-01-20 (37 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.04 "Raring Ringtail" - Alpha amd64 (20130118)
MarkForUpload: True
ProcEnviron:
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
 LANG=it_IT.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: bcmwl
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Kimr1508 (kimr1508)]

I receive kernel panic after a random number of minutes (normally 2 - 15 minutes) when I use Transmission. When doing casual web browsing I do not get any panic, so maybe it is network load related.

If I boot with kernel 3.5 there are no problems at all.

The kernel panic on broadcom 4312 can also be reproduced copying a large file to another computer (samba share). So it is not only when Transmission is used to generate network traffic .

[Kimr1508 (kimr1508)]

You might also want to follow https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/+bug/1098225 since it's related to this one.

[Manjul Apratim (manzdagratiano)]

@Michele your broadcom 4313 card is supposed to be supported by the open sourced brcmsmac (brcm80211) (for PCI, and brcmfmac for SDIO) drivers that are included in the kernel since 2.6.37:

http://linuxwireless.org/en/users/Drivers/brcm80211#Supported_Chips

I would suggest you give them a try intead of the closed source wl driver, which causes repeated problems from time to time (I myself have a broadcom 4312 chip, which I used with wl for two years until it began to cause connectivity issues and I was able to switch to the open source b43 drivers, which I have used for two years now without any problems).

[Michele Giacomoli (michele-giacomoli)]

@Kimr1508 Yes, it really seems the same problem. Until that will be reopened I'll don't mark this bug as duplicated

@Manjul Apratim I'll give them a try as soon as I realize how to use them ;) But this is a workaround, not a fix, and since when you install Ubuntu these (STA/wl) are the only drivers it suggests you to use, this problem should be fixed as soon as possible.

[Michele Giacomoli (michele-giacomoli)]

@Manjul I checked for brcmsmac, but it seems they only support the broadcom 4313 and... ops... I discovered I wrote the wrong model of my broadcom card. In fact I have a 4312 (which seems not supported by brcmsmac), not a 4313... Sorry

I'll update the description

[Kelly Hyde (polarimetric)]

Are you able to get a log/stacktrace of the kernel panic you're experiencing? I'm curious to know if it's the same as the kernel panic I attached to my bug: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/+bug/1124390 (I'm not really sure if my panics are specific to my network card; if you're getting the same ones, it's not, since we have different hardware.)

My bug is not the same as bug #1098225.

[Michele Giacomoli (michele-giacomoli)]

Hey Kelly, it seems I needed your comment in order to fix my problem. I'm trying to stress the wireless card in order to experience the kernel panic and post the log from yesterday, but no panics so far!! The strange thing is that I just tried a day before (after I installed the kernel 3.8.0-12) and it got a kernel panic after a few seconds. Yes, in the meanwhile I also installed other updates, like unity and grub2, but I don't think they can fix this problem...

As soon as I experience a kernel panic I'll post the stacktrace ;)

[Michele Giacomoli (michele-giacomoli)]

Ok, they are back :) but I don't know where to find the kernel stacktrace. Looking at syslog I don't find anything.

Anyway looking at the description of your but I think it's not the same bug.

[Daniel Freitas (daniel-co-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount)]

The happens to me, and also when I use ndiswrapper. Please

[Daniel Freitas (daniel-co-deactivatedaccount-deactivatedaccount)]

...how can we get the kernel stacktrace?

[Kobzeci (zeki)]

I can confirm this bug too.
I have:
07:00.0 Network controller: Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY (rev 01)
There were no problems on previous releases.
Hope to see this bug fixed soon.

[Marcelo dos Santos Nascimento Correia (malkyus)]

me too: BCM 802.11b/g LP-PHY

Please fix it, it's the only thing stopping me to upgrade to 13.04.

[Mohamad Atef Radwan (m-atef-radwan)]

me too : Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY .. kernel panic after 5 min max
use b43 instead now but still STA/Wl is better

[Thomas Surrel (tsurrel-a)]

Same here :
Broadcom Corporation BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY

[Marcelo dos Santos Nascimento Correia (malkyus)]

b43 is dropping my conection every 5 minutes... i need the STA/Wl to work

[Niko (nicken-deactivatedaccount)]

I got the dump from the kernel.
I realise that the crash doesn't happen when I'm using wired network and connected to an wireless router at the same time.

[Kimr1508 (kimr1508)]

Yes, b43 is not good. I also experience connection drops with BCM4312 802.11b/g LP-PHY after a short time of use.

We need the STA/Wl to work, since it is an all Linux distros issue - not only Ubuntu.

[Marcelo dos Santos Nascimento Correia (malkyus)]

Please, tell me how i can help to get this bug fixed. Can I give more information? Is there anything I can do? I really do not want to see this bug go unsolved like many others that plague ubuntu...

[dekeyserkarel (dekeyserkarel)]

The problem was also reported in https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/1173581 and several other linux distributions with the 3.7 kernel

[Kelly Hyde (polarimetric)]

I just wrote this in my similar bug report (bug #1124390) and I'll copy it over here for anyone it might help:

A fully working version of bcmwl on Raring with working wireless-N on the BCM4331 and no kernel panics with iwconfig can be found in this PPA: https://launchpad.net/~eugenesan/+archive/ppa This is a Raring compatible build of bcmwl 6.30.

If you add this PPA to your system, you'll want to disable automatic installation of packages from it with the /etc/apt/preferences file or else you'll get a lot of (probably) unwanted updates for other packages.

Note that you'll get networking errors upon first installing the package (you'll get dropped from Wifi and you'll see scan errors in dmesg). Just restart after installation and all should be in working order.

[xir (simonbennie)]

I just tried the above ppa on raring with a BCM43224. I still get a kernel panic. You can see the first line of the log is using the OS driver and then once the wl driver is installed a panic occurs.

[32132.952424] brcmsmac bcma0:0: brcms_ops_bss_info_changed: qos enabled: false (implement)
[32132.953240] cfg80211: Calling CRDA to update world regulatory domain
[32133.005145] cfg80211: World regulatory domain updated:
[32133.005156] cfg80211: (start_freq - end_freq @ bandwidth), (max_antenna_gain, max_eirp)
[32133.005165] cfg80211: (2402000 KHz - 2472000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[32133.005172] cfg80211: (2457000 KHz - 2482000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[32133.005178] cfg80211: (2474000 KHz - 2494000 KHz @ 20000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[32133.005184] cfg80211: (5170000 KHz - 5250000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[32133.005190] cfg80211: (5735000 KHz - 5835000 KHz @ 40000 KHz), (300 mBi, 2000 mBm)
[32133.082257] lib80211: common routines for IEEE802.11 drivers
[32133.082266] lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'NULL'
[32133.087164] wl: module license 'MIXED/Proprietary' taints kernel.
[32133.174730] INFO @wl_cfg80211_attach : Registered CFG80211 phy
[32133.187582] lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'TKIP'
[32133.239009] eth0: Broadcom BCM4353 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.20.155.1 (r326264)
[32178.695922] applesmc: send_byte(0x40, 0x0300) fail: 0x40
[32178.695936] applesmc: F0Mn: write data fail
[32224.822837] EXT4-fs (sda5): re-mounted. Opts: discard,discard,errors=remount-ro,commit=600
[32224.868673] EXT4-fs (sda6): re-mounted. Opts: discard,commit=600
[32224.918534] general protection fault: 0000 [#1] SMP
[32224.918597] Modules linked in: michael_mic(F) lib80211_crypt_tkip wl(POF) lib80211 msr(F) parport_pc(F) ppdev(F) rfcomm bnep bluetooth snd_hda_codec_hdmi snd_hda_codec_cirrus binfmt_misc(F) hid_generic arc4(F) cordic(F) brcmutil mac80211 cfg80211 kvm_intel kvm ghash_clmulni_intel(F) aesni_intel(F) aes_x86_64(F) xts(F) lrw(F) gf128mul(F) ablk_helper(F) cryptd(F) snd_hda_intel snd_hda_codec snd_hwdep(F) joydev(F) snd_pcm(F) usb_storage(F) snd_page_alloc(F) snd_seq_midi(F) snd_seq_midi_event(F) uvcvideo videobuf2_vmalloc videobuf2_memops snd_rawmidi(F) videobuf2_core videodev applesmc snd_seq(F) input_polldev microcode(F) snd_seq_device(F) snd_timer(F) mac_hid i915 apple_bl snd(F) video(F) drm_kms_helper lpc_ich drm i2c_algo_bit mei soundcore(F) bcm5974 hid_apple usbhid coretemp hid lp(F) parport(F) ahci(F) libahci(F) [last unloaded: bcma]
[32224.919432] CPU 3
[32224.919455] Pid: 30515, comm: iwconfig Tainted: PF O 3.8.0-19-generic #30-Ubuntu Apple Inc. MacBookAir5,2/Mac-2E6FAB96566FE58C
[32224.919559] RIP: 0010:[<ffffffff8169b3d1>] [<ffffffff8169b3d1>] wireless_process_ioctl+0x91/0x1b0
[32224.919646] RSP: 0018:ffff880034bdbd80 EFLAGS: 00010286
[32224.919692] RAX: ffff8800046c3000 RBX: 0000000000008b09 RCX: f7f9faffdfeeb7ff
[32224.919753] RDX: f7f9faffdfeeb7ff RSI: ffff880034bdbe20 RDI: ffff8800046c3000
[32224.919814] RBP: ffff880034bdbda8 R08: 0000000000000000 R09: ffffffff8169cba0
[32224.919874] R10: 0000000000000001 R11: 0000000000000246 R12: ffffffff8169cba0
[32224.91...

[xir (simonbennie)]

Just tried the 3.9 kernel from mainline with the above PPA and the wl driver is now working.

Cheers Kelly.

[Kelly Hyde (polarimetric)]

@xir, did you restart after installing wl? I never got a kernel panic, but the wl driver was not functional after installation until I restarted. Your panic may be related.

[Niko (nicken-deactivatedaccount)]

I'm also using the PPA above and It did work fine for me, no kernel panics. Just for report, as you can see below, the card have been registered as BCM4315, but in fact is a BCM4312

[ 26.621597] wl: module license 'MIXED/Proprietary' taints kernel.
[ 26.682615] INFO @wl_cfg80211_attach : Registered CFG80211 phy
[ 27.225627] lib80211_crypt: registered algorithm 'TKIP'
[ 27.496582] eth1: Broadcom BCM4315 802.11 Hybrid Wireless Controller 6.30.223.30 (r390414)

[Jeremy Neptune (jerenept1)]

jeremy@A...:~$ uname -a
Linux ... 3.8.0-22-generic #33-Ubuntu SMP Thu May 16 15:17:14 UTC 2013 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Getting kernel panics at random intervals ever since I upgraded to 3.8. When I remove wl and load brcmsmac, seems to work.

[KC1DI (davekc1di)]

Same here on a dell 1564 BCM 4312 - panics after 2 to 10 minutes , This has happened on all distros i've tried with late 3.7 and 3.8 Kernels haven't had the time to check it with 3.9 kernel yet. but there is deffinately something in the 3.8 kernel that and 802.11 driver for BCM 4312 - Sta that's not right :(

[jpms (juanpabloms)]

I am having the same with my Dell Inspiron 1464 with several Kernels and I have tried several broadcom drivers with same result.

Ubuntu 12.10 and previous versions worked fine.

[Michele Giacomoli (michele-giacomoli)]

I tried to install the bcmwl package from saucy repository: all the panics are gone and the wireless card started to work as it was with previous ubuntu releases. The only problem I had is that it manages to connect to a WPA1 network, but it has some problems transmitting/receiving data. I'll do some tests as soon as I'm near to a WPA1 network ;)

Here you can find and try yourself the package I mentioned before:
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/6.30.223.30+bdcom-0ubuntu2/+build/4724924/+files/bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.30%2Bbdcom-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb

[Kobzeci (zeki)]

@Michele Giacomoli (michele-giacomoli) wrote on 2013-07-04:
>Here you can find and try yourself the package I mentioned before:
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/bcmwl/6.30.223.30+bdcom-0ubuntu2/+build/4724924/+files/bcmwl-kernel-source_6.30.223.30%2Bbdcom-0ubuntu2_amd64.deb

This worked for me too! Thanks for the tip.

I hope it will be solved completely soon!

[Dean (7simmonds-dean)]

20140125
JAN 25 2014
Broadcom wireless
I hope that wl STA in the repository gets updated and makes this post useless.
I am new, so please help where possible.
_______________________________
Linux UBUNTU
Symptoms:
Every (or many) updates Break wireless
Corporate Environments
Multiple Wireless Access Points (WAP)
Campus Wireless (Universities)
Frequent disconnects
WPA2 connected but not usable
_______________________________
Wireless Hardware: Broadcom 4321
OS: UBUNTU 12.04 LTS with latest kernel
using standard Connection Manager, still has issues with multiple keys in multiple WAP setup.
____________________________________________________
The wl driver in the repository that can be installed using the, command line or proprietary/additional drivers in UBUNTU
is broken for my hardware.
20140125
My Data:
installed from repository or additional drivers => won't work.
installed from my compile/make per Broadcom's instructions => works.
_____________________________________________________
SOLUTION:
go to Broadcom's site and get the new universal wl driver:
Broadcom has provided this as an official release.
it provides hardware encryption.
_____________________________________________________
http://www.broadcom.com/docs/linux_sta/README.txt Please keep reading.
 ( if your hardware is not supported by this go to the end of this post. )
 COMPILE FROM SOURCE PER THE INSTRUCTIONS.
 DO NOT USE REPOSITORY wl DRIVER, UNINSTALL IT.
 THIS MEANS DON'T USE THE ADDITIONAL DRIVERS SOLUTION in UBUNTU.
I Recommend creating your own folder to place the new driver so that nothing will change it.
______________________________________________________
As of 20140125 every or most kernel or wireless security updates will break the new Broadcom wl.ko module.
_
Quick Restore:
=> Remove various kernel modules that may conflict and Reinstall Broadcoms new universal STA driver.
Open Terminal (ctrl+alt+t)
Paste next line to get started,
sudo rmmod b43
You may get a message that b43 is not installed and won't be removed.
This is OK, we are just making sure its not there.
Now Paste what is between the following lines.
They will remove other possible drivers including the repositories wl STA driver and
reinstall the Broadcom Universal STA driver you have built which Includes 80211 security
________________________________
sudo rmmod brcmsmac
sudo rmmod ssb
sudo rmmod bcma
sudo rmmod wl
sudo modprobe lib80211
sudo modprobe cfg80211
cd /<Your_Path_TO_New_hybrid_wl>/
sudo insmod wl.ko
cd ~
exit
_________________________________
after this your hardware should work.
_
I know there is a way (UPSTART), to make the updates not install the the repositories wl kernel module.
I just want to get this out there because I have spent too much time and too many days solving this again and again and ... .
_
In Multiple WAPs under one login,
WAP keys are not managed correctly and may only connect at the original WAP location where you set up the wireless connection.
Run the scripts above and it will reset to your new WAP location.
(you might need to edit wireless connections and uninstall that wireless configuration)
Some Background:
There was a security flaw in 'WPA & WPA2...

[Ubuntu Foundations Team Bug Bot (crichton)]

The attachment "Broadcom's Universal wl STA" seems to be a patch. If it isn't, please remove the "patch" flag from the attachment, remove the "patch" tag, and if you are a member of the ~ubuntu-reviewers, unsubscribe the team.

[This is an automated message performed by a Launchpad user owned by ~brian-murray, for any issues please contact him.]

[Kobzeci (zeki)]

Still same kernel panics with 14.04 Beta.

I hate this bug.

[penalvch (penalvch)]

Michele Giacomoli, Raring reached EOL on January 27, 2014.
See this document for currently supported Ubuntu releases: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Releases

If you are having a problem in a supported release, please file a new report via a terminal:
ubuntu-bug bcmwl

Do feel free to report any other bugs you may find.

Helpful bug reporting tips:
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