[BUG] Claude Helper (Plugin) crashes with EXC_BREAKPOINT (Rust panic in PNG EXIF reader) —computer-use VM never starts

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Environment:

• Claude desktop app version: 1.1.9669
• macOS: 14.5 (23F79) (Sonoma) on Apple Silicon (ARM64 / MacBookAir10,1)

What happens:
The Claude Helper (Plugin) process crashes repeatedly with EXC_BREAKPOINT / SIGTRAP approximately 45
seconds after the Claude desktop app launches. As a result, the computer-use VM (172.16.10.3) never
becomes reachable, and all computer-use MCP tool calls fail with:
▎ Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'registerEscape')

What Should Happen?

Should not crash.

Error Messages/Logs

Crash details from DiagnosticReports:
  - Exception: EXC_BREAKPOINT / SIGTRAP (Rust panic)                                                  
  - Faulting thread stack includes: rust_png$cxxbridge1$Reader$has_exif_chunk                         
  - Call path: node::PrincipalRealm::messaging_deserialize_create_object() → Electron IPC             
  deserialization

Steps to Reproduce

1. Launch Claude desktop app
2. Connect computer-use MCP in Claude Code CLI (/mcp)
3. Attempt any computer-use tool call (e.g. screenshot)
4. Observe crash in Console.app / DiagnosticReports

Claude Model

Sonnet (default)

Is this a regression?

No, this never worked

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

1.1.9669

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

macOS

Terminal/Shell

Terminal.app (macOS)

Additional Information

What was tried (did not fix):

• Cleared ~/Library/Caches/Claude
• Deleted and re-downloaded vm_bundles/claudevm.bundle/rootfs.img (10 GB)
• Cleared Session Storage, IndexedDB, blob_storage in Application Support/Claude
• Multiple restarts of Claude desktop app