[BUG] Linux Desktop: backend NodeService utility process aborts (SIGABRT) — event-loop stalls compound into whole-app crash-loop

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

On the native Linux build of Claude Desktop (1.40609.1, deb), the backend Node utility process crashes with SIGABRT and takes the whole app down. The in-app symptom is the "Claude Code crashed / Try sending your message again" error in Code/agent mode, and it recurs (crash-loop) under heavy session use. Same in-app error as #85867; this report adds the missing Linux evidence.

Key facts:

• Crashing process: claude-desktop --type=utility --utility-sub-type=node.mojom.NodeService — the Node.js utility process hosting the Agent SDK / local Claude Code engine (not a renderer, not the GPU process).
• Signal: 6 / SIGABRT (apport core dump: /var/crash/_usr_lib_claude-desktop_claude-desktop.1000.crash).
• 32 GB system RAM with ~10 GB free at crash time — this is not host memory pressure.

Pre-crash sequence (identical in both observed crashes, from ~/.config/Claude/logs/main.log):

1. [event-loop-stall] main process blocked for 3.3–3.7s (task LocalSessions.getSession)
2. [linuxAvailableMemory] /proc/meminfo unreadable, timed out, or missing MemTotal/MemAvailable; reporting available memory as unknown — main loop frozen so hard it can't read a file
3. [CCD] refreshSdkMcpStatuses failed ...: Cannot write to terminated process
4. [heavy-work] worker exited (0) → Starting app (full app relaunch)

Regression evidence: per-day [event-loop-stall] counts went from 10 @ ~500 ms (Aug 24) to 55 @ ~3.5 s (Sep 3), with cumulative blocked time reaching 32 s inside a single session. The escalation begins exactly when 1.40609.1 was installed (Sep 2).

What Should Happen?

The backend Node process should not abort. Event-loop stalls of 3+ seconds should not compound until the process dies and the app relaunches.

Error Messages/Logs

# main.log — crash #1 (19:44:53)
[warn] [event-loop-stall] main process blocked for 3678ms (task sdk:stream-delta-flush=0ms, total 40, cumulative 28508ms, rss 413MB)
[warn] [linuxAvailableMemory] /proc/meminfo unreadable, timed out, or missing MemTotal/MemAvailable; reporting available memory as unknown
[warn] [CCD] refreshSdkMcpStatuses failed for local_eb7c88d9-...: Cannot write to terminated process
[info] [heavy-work] worker exited (0); will refork on next request
[info] Starting app { appVersion: '1.40609.1', ... }

# crash #2 (20:02:01) — same four lines, task LocalSessions.getSession, blocked 3328ms

# apport dump fields
Signal: 6
SignalName: SIGABRT
ExecutablePath: /usr/lib/claude-desktop/claude-desktop
ProcCmdline: ... --type=utility --utility-sub-type=node.mojom.NodeService ...

Additional launch-time breadcrumb (every launch, matches #49579):

(node:313764) MaxListenersExceededWarning: Possible EventEmitter memory leak detected.
21 destroyed listeners added to [WebContents]. MaxListeners is 20.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Native Linux desktop build 1.40609.1 (deb package).
2. Use Code/agent mode (local-agent / Claude Code in Desktop) with several MCP servers loaded — on this machine 15 servers are registered (incl. account-synced ClickUp, Figma, Slack, Supabase, Microsoft 365).
3. Switch between sessions/heavy queries. Crash recurs; observed twice within ~20 minutes.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

Yes — crash frequency and stall severity escalated immediately after the 1.40609.1 update (Sep 2). Earlier logs show stalls an order of magnitude shorter (~500 ms) and no app relaunches.

Claude Code Version

Desktop 1.40609.1 (bundled Agent SDK / local Claude Code engine)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Pop!_OS 24.04 (Ubuntu 24.04), kernel 7.1.5-76070105-generic, x86_64

Terminal/Shell

Other (Claude Desktop)

Additional Information

Linux-specific data gap (why this class of crash is unreported): crashpad launches with --url=https://f.a.k/e (a placeholder) on Linux, so crash dumps are never uploaded to Anthropic. The only copy is the apport dump in /var/crash. If you want the full dump, I can attach it.

Related: #85867 (same in-app error on Linux, pre-evidence), #49579 (V8 OOM in Code-mode backend on macOS, same MaxListenersExceededWarning), #80710.