Bug: Segmentation Fault in native binary on Ubuntu 26.04 (exit code 139)

Resolved 💬 1 comment Opened May 29, 2026 by dalde-ol Closed Jul 2, 2026

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

  • OS: Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon)
  • Architecture: x86_64
  • Claude Code version: 2.1.156
  • Installation method: curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
  • Virtualization: VirtualBox VM

Problem

When running the claude command, the process exits immediately with exit
code 139 (Segmentation Fault / SIGSEGV). The same happens with
claude --version and claude --help.

Diagnosis

Using strace, I identified that the crash occurs during binary
initialization, right after loading the basic shared libraries
(libc, libpthread, libdl, libm). The signal received is:

SIGSEGV {si_signo=SIGSEGV, si_code=SI_KERNEL, si_addr=NULL}

This is a NULL pointer dereference during initialization of the V8/Node.js
engine bundled in the native binary. All system shared libraries are present
and correct — the issue appears to be in the native binary itself.

Workaround

Installing via global npm works correctly:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest

After this installation, the claude command works normally on version 2.1.156.

Conclusion

The native binary distributed by the install script (install.sh) is
incompatible with Ubuntu 26.04 inside VirtualBox, crashing on startup.
The npm version of the package does not have this issue.

I am available to provide more information or test fixes.

What Should Happen?

The claude command should start normally after installation
via the install script (install.sh), just as it does when
installed via npm:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest

Expected: binary initializes successfully and responds to
claude, claude --version, and claude --help without crashing.

Steps to Reproduce

  1. Create a VirtualBox VM running Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) x86_64
  1. Run the official install script:

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

  1. Run any of the following commands:

claude
claude --version
claude --help

  1. Process exits immediately with code 139 (Segmentation Fault)
  1. To confirm it is a native binary issue, run strace:

strace claude 2>&1 | tail -20

  1. Output shows SIGSEGV during V8/Node.js engine initialization:

SIGSEGV {si_signo=SIGSEGV, si_code=SI_KERNEL, si_addr=NULL}

Note: Installing via npm works correctly as a workaround:
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code@latest

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

_No response_

Claude Code Version

2.1.156 (Claude Code)

Platform

Native install (install.sh) - VirtualBox VM

Operating System

Ubuntu/Debian Linux

Terminal/Shell

Bash (Ubuntu 26.04)

Additional Information

This issue was reproduced inside a VirtualBox VM running
Ubuntu 26.04 LTS (Resolute Raccoon) x86_64. It is unclear
whether the issue also occurs on bare metal. The npm installation
works correctly in the same environment.

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