They identified a bug in Linux 5.19.12 that could corrupt laptop screens with Intel GPUs

intel driver crashes screen on linux 5.19.12

Users running Linux Kernel 5.19.12 describe "white flickering" on their screens.

Information was recently released that A critical bug was identified in the set of fixes for the kernel driver Linux 5.19, regarding i915 graphics code included in this version.

And that is the problem only affects laptops with intel graphics that use the i915 driver and have already been reported with the error on some Lenovo, Dell, Thinkpad and Framework laptops.

It has been reported by various users across a handful of distributions that
there appears to be a regression in the Laptop Framework (which is presumably
not so special in terms of mobo and screen)

It is mentioned that the error manifests itself as an intense bright white flash on the screen immediately after loading the i915 driver, which affected users compare to lighting effects "at 90's rave parties".

The observed flicker is due to incorrect ignition delays of the LCD screen which, if exposed for a long time, may cause physical damage to the LCD panel.

Some users reported that the flickering did not go away after a reboot or after switching to basic level tools like BIOS or GRUB. Some managed to change their kernel versions by connecting to an external monitor and saw the flicker gradually fade over time.

But malfunctioning panel power sequence (i.e. display timing) can permanently damage displays, especially LCDs built into laptops.

Additionally, it is important to mention that all Nvidia Optimus laptops and possibly some laptops combined with Intel-Radeon could face this problem because they always let the iGPU control the display, even when the dedicated GPU is rendering the graphics. Your laptop could be safe if you can disable Optimus mode.

"After looking at some logs, we ended up with potentially false panel power sequencing delays, which can damage the LCD panel," Intel engineer Ville Syrjälä wrote in a discussion on the topic. “I recommend an immediate rollback of this material and a new stable version as soon as possible. Also, a recommendation that no one using laptops with Intel GPUs run 5.19.12."

It is because of that special recommendation is made to the users of these laptops that are on this version of the Kernel, which if it is impossible to select another kernel in the bootloader, do so in order to temporarily block the problem, and it is recommended to specify the kernel parameter "module_blacklist=i915" during boot to log in and update the kernel package or roll back to the previous kernel.

The bug is related to a change in the VBT (Video BIOS Tables) parsing logic, which was added only in kernel version 5.19.12, all versions earlier or later, including 5.19.11, 5.19.13 and 6.0.0. XNUMX, they are not affected by the problem.

Kernel 5.19.12 was formed on September 28, and the 5.19.13 patch release was published on October 4. Of the major distributions, kernel 5.19.12 managed to get delivered to users on Fedora Linux, Gentoo, and Arch Linux. While stable releases of Debian, Ubuntu, SUSE and RHEL come with older kernel branches.

Greg Kroah-Hartman, the main maintainer of the stable branch, released version 5.19.13 of the kernel on Tuesday, solving the problem and giving Linux distributions a "safe springboard to bounce back from."

“This release is to resolve a regression on some Intel graphics systems that had issues with 5.19.12. If you don't have this issue with 5.19.12, there's no need to upgrade," the release announcement reads.

In addition, the Manjaro developers, has already announced that they will go from 5.19.7 directly to 5.19.13, avoiding introducing risks to users of laptops with Intel GPU. However, given the delay in pushing Linux kernel updates to many other distributions, the buggy version might land on some of them later on.

Source: https://lore.kernel.org


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  1.   Rolling said

    That's the problem with rolling, if you go with an lts kernel those things don't happen to you.

  2.   ignatius julian said

    the problem can affect an intel minipc I ask you lately I do strange things the debian 11 gnome to turn off I have to activate it and it does not turn off on the fifth attempt the ignition also happens