Launching Brave locks up either Ubuntu 24.04.3 or Debian 12

Brave Browser
1

Description of the issue:

Latest Brave release (1.83.118) makes Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS x86_64 locked up when launching the browser. To escape from the lock up status a hard power down/switch off is required.

Same result is experienced at a system running Debian 12

Steps to Reproduce (add as many as necessary): 1. 2. 3.

Just click on the Brave icon to launch the application at both systems

Same result should you launch Brave from a terminal command.

Should you get Brave from Snap, same results. In this case, if you lunch Brave via command with modifiers (ie: snap run brave –ozone-platform=x11), it appears that Brave is operational but you get a number of error messages related to GTK at the terminal. I am not skilled enough to understand what is going on.

Actual Result (gifs and screenshots are welcome!):

IMG_5454
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This picture shows what appears after Brave is launched from the icon. Brave has been installed from Brave.com web page using the suggested command stream for Ubuntu/Debian

In looks like normal but the system is locked up!.

Ocassionally, this picture appears as pixeled at the border

The below pictures provide you with additional systems information

IMG_5452
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IMG_5453
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GPU’s at both systems are ATI RADEON 3450

Expected result:

Reproduces how often:

It happens at anytime Brave browser is launched. The lock up happens before ending the process to get Brave window operational.

Operating System and Brave Version(See the About Brave page in the main menu):

Operating systems:

Ubuntu 24.04.3 LTS x86_64

Debian 12 (bookworm) x86_84

Both systems are updated to their current level as per October, 21st, 2025

I do not remember the Brave’s release at the systems when I first experienced the problem but I have fresh installed via curl from Brave.com to the current 1.83.118 release and the behavior/results are the same.

Additional Information:

Other browsers, as Firefox, are performing OK

2

Hello @Valeriano

after the reboot you can run the follwoing command

sudo journalctl -b | grep -i "segfault"

which will give the log of the system before the reboot

or start brave using the terminal with this command

brave-browser --enable-logging --v=1 &

then after the freez and you reboot the system
you can go to

/home/type your user name here/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser

you will find a file called chrome_debug.log

which has the log the would help to identify the issue

hope that help and have a nice day :slight_smile:

3

Thanks a lot for your promptly answer, justsoomeone1.

Please, accept my apologise for a late action. Yesterday I was busy and I could not work on the topic.

Today I have followed your guide line using the second method and the results will be delivered asap.
Just for a quick advance, please, see the attached “chrome_debug.log” at my Ubuntu system alfter the lock up. Today’s foto on Brave windows at the crash moment is saying that Brave browser is unexpectedly closing down.
Unfortunately, the chrome_debug.log is empty!

I will launch Brave again from the terminal and try a video with the information that come out from the console. Once the PC is locked up I can not reach such an information.

Regards,

Valeriano

(Attachment chrome_debug.log is missing)

Apparently, as a new user at the blog, I am not allowed to attach files. I will try to put allocate the video at Dropbox and send to you a link to donwnload it.

Regards,

Valeriano

Please, try to download video from:

Regards,

4

Please, try to download video from:

[

b7z49nprq142z6jhzqgwm.png
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#videoIMG_5461.MOV
dropbox.com
](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/b7z49nprq142z6jhzqgwm/videoIMG_5461.MOV?rlkey=4j59kh8k6cxrwv1hzri7mjm6b&st=lrk8zmgy&dl=0)
5

Please, discard this video as I am delivering a new one showing the terminal at full screen in order to see all the information provided by the system.

I am in the hope this new video will provide better information:

6

Please try this video

[

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q708ma96csrjaqyatr0fh.png1024Ă—576 80.7 KB

#video2IMG_5467.MOV
dropbox.com
](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/q708ma96csrjaqyatr0fh/video2IMG_5467.MOV?rlkey=qh04df42n0aua51557d7rxv8b&dl=0)
7

I have noticed that at: /home/ubuntu/.config/BraveSoftware/Brave-Browser there are three files which icons have a red cross and names are: SingletonCookie, SingletonLock and SingletonSocket

8

Oh, no! after Ubuntu’s update that bring Brave to the release 1.83.120, Brave-Browser started in a normal manner. I could do some job reaching acces to some pages and after some minutes the system got locked up. Little progress indeed!

chrome_debug.log is empty

SingletonCokie, SingletonLock and SingletonSocket have been created again

9

Hello @Valeriano

it’s ok do not be sorry
and glad to hear the good news
from your video it looks like there some kind of corrupted files during the installation

which the update replaced it

i see your hardware specs so if you have harddrive try to check if it have bad sector which could be the cause of the issue

by the gemini help

Using the GNOME Disks Utility (Graphical)

The quickest way to check your hard drive’s basic health is by using the built-in graphical tool, which relies on the drive’s S.M.A.R.T. (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) system.

  1. Open Disks: Open the Activities overview (usually by pressing the Super key/Windows key) and search for “Disks”.

  2. Select the Drive: In the left pane, click on the hard drive you want to check.

  3. View SMART Data:

    • Look for the “Drive Health” or “Assessment” field (it will often say “Disk is OK” or “Pre-fail”).

    • Click the menu icon (usually three dots or a hamburger menu) in the top-right corner and select “SMART Data & Self-Tests…” .

  4. Check Attributes: Look specifically at the SMART Attributes for:

    • Reallocated Sector Count (The number of sectors reallocated due to being bad). A non-zero, increasing value indicates bad sectors.

    • Current Pending Sector Count (Sectors that are candidates for re-allocation). A non-zero value means the drive is having trouble reading those sectors.

  5. Run a Self-Test: You can also click the “Start Self-test” button and choose a Short or Extended test to force the drive to check itself and update the SMART data.

    hope that help and have a nice day :slight_smile:

10

I will follow your suggestions. A bad hard disk drive behavior could explain this erratic behavior.

However, what it makes me to be suspiciuous is that same Brave problems appear at a Debian system running in a similar PC as the Ubuntu one. At that system, there is no HDD but an SSD one!.

I will work on the Ubuntu. First, checking for errors at the HDD and then I will let you know the findings.

Enjoy your day! and thanks a millions

UPDATE

After running Extended Self Checking under SMART on the HDD at the Ubuntu system, results say that there are no errors and the conclusion is that HDD is correct.

Now, looking for an explanation on the issue, let’s review the situation together:

We have two pretty similar PC’s, one running Ubuntu and the other Debian (almost twin brothers) where Brave was performing OK.

  • HW itself is not likely the root. Nothing aditional has been either added or removed. Systems are performing OK with other programms and aplication
  • SW, including firmware, are subjects that do receive updates from time to time
  • If HW did not change, all the directions point out to SW and their inter operational interactions.
  • Are there any new commands that the current HW do not support?
  • What other packages, apart from GPU’s firmware, are involved? GNOME and PLASMA are differents and the problem appear at both scenaries as well.
  • I wonder why chrome_debug.log is not logging what it happened during the launch and before the crash.
  • As far as I have read in the Internet, apparently SingletonXXX files are created by Brave when something wrong is detected and do not allow launch again the browser in the system to prevent further undesired results (I might be in a miss understanding statement).
  • Are there any other logging file that we could review for a clue?
  • Firefox do perform OK without problems but I prefer Brave as it is lighter for my limited resources systems.

UPDATE 1

I have just installed Chromium browser and after launching the application, its behavior is similar to Brave’s. It locks up the PC!

Upon the crash, Chromium rather than Singletonxxx’s files it creates a file named .themes

Then I have removed/purged Chromium from the system.

Same behavior can be found should you install Google Chrome

That means that the root cause might be lying at the Chromium alike platform

AI says the following:

Kind regards,

Valeriano

11

thanks for the details @Valeriano

and sorry for being late as i did not get notification when you update/edit our post

i guess the issue come from the chromium part of brave

i do not know and since update fix the issue then it’s software issue

and have a nice day :slight_smile:

12

Thanks a los for your kind efforts and Support.
In the mean while as the root of the problem is still unknown, I do believe that it is not Brave but in the Ubuntu’s/Debian’s roof. It could be related to the modules that deal with GPU. As you know, Waylan at these platforms is managing the differents GPU models. In my case the GPU is an old fashioned one and it could be possible a lack of compatibility with software written considering new hw functionalities for modern GPU’s

Both platforms are delivering updates for wayland but the issues are still there.

I will re intall Ubuntu and check for results.

Kind regards,

13

you welcome

since brave update solve the problem and it was not bad sector issue of your storage then it’s chromium part of brave that has the issue

so in my humble opinion i will let it go

and have a nice day :slight_smile:

14

That’s fine. Thanks a lot for your kind support.

Kind regards,

Valeriano

15

you very welcome and you too :slight_smile:

16

Additional information this issue:

After multiple actions installing Brave and analyzing results, I finally have found a way to launch the browser.

-Final installation was performed via snap.
-Launched the browser with terminal command: brave —disable-gpu
-At the terminal I’ve got a number of errors as per attached PDF document

  • Brave browser, apparently, performs in a normal manner.

Conclusion: Something is wrong either at the GPU or Brave that make Ubuntu to freeze after launching Brave. GPU ATI Radeon 3450/3470 is performing errors free with other app’s

Thanks for your support

(Attachment brave_error.pdf is missing)

17

You may find the error at the terminal after launching Brave with GPU disabled

(attachments)

brave_error.txt (1.59 KB)

18

i am totally lost you said an update to brave solve the problem
now you say you found away to launch brave

first i do not like installing any app using snap i prefer official repo

based on gemini

:locked: Details of the Errors

1. Secret Service Access Denied

This is the most significant error:

[...ERROR:dbus/object_proxy.cc:573] Failed to call method: org.freedesktop.Secret.Service.ReadAlias: object_path= /org/freedesktop/secrets: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: An AppArmor policy prevents this sender from sending this message to this recipient; type="method_call", sender=":1.172" (uid=1000 pid=8464 comm="/snap/brave/572/opt/brave.com/brave/brave --disabl" label="snap.brave.brave (enforce)") interface="org.freedesktop.Secret.Service" member="ReadAlias" error name="(unset)" requested_reply="0" destination="org.freedesktop.secrets" (uid=1000 pid=2392 comm="/usr/bin/gnome-keyring-daemon --foreground --compo" label="unconfined")

  • Source: The Brave browser (/snap/brave/572/...) running under a Snap confinement (AppArmor policy).

  • Target: The Secret Service, managed by gnome-keyring-daemon, which securely stores passwords and other secrets.

  • Problem: The AppArmor policy governing the Brave Snap package is preventing it from sending a D-Bus message to the Secret Service (GNOME Keyring) to read credentials.

  • Impact: Brave may fail to save, retrieve, or manage passwords and sync tokens because it cannot talk to the system’s secure credential store.

2. Browser User Education Interface (Minor)

This is a temporary, minor error related to the browser’s internal logic:

[...ERROR:chrome/browser/ui/views/user_education/impl/browser_user_education_interface_impl.cc:154] Attempting to show IPH IPH_DiscardRing before browser initialization complete; IPH will not be shown.

  • Problem: An “In-Product Help” (IPH) notification feature (IPH_DiscardRing) was told to display before the browser had fully finished initializing its user interface.

  • Impact: The specific notification was not shown. This is usually a non-critical timing issue.

3. Idle Monitor Access Denied

Another D-Bus access denial:

[...ERROR:dbus/object_proxy.cc:573] Failed to call method: org.gnome.Mutter.IdleMonitor.AddIdleWatch: object_path= /org/gnome/Mutter/IdleMonitor/Core: org.freedesktop.DBus.Error.AccessDenied: An AppArmor policy prevents this sender from sending this message to this recipient; type="method_call", sender=":1.171" (uid=1000 pid=8464 comm="/snap/brave/572/opt/brave.com/brave/brave --disabl" label="snap.brave.brave (enforce)") interface="org.gnome.Mutter.IdleMonitor" member="AddIdleWatch" error name="(unset)" requested_reply="0" destination="org.gnome.Mutter.IdleMonitor" (uid=1000 pid=2590 comm="/usr/bin/gnome-shell" label="unconfined")

  • Source: The Brave browser (Snap confinement).

  • Target: The GNOME Mutter Idle Monitor service, which tracks when a user is active or idle.

  • Problem: The AppArmor policy prevents Brave from registering a watch with the Idle Monitor.

  • Impact: Brave may be unable to detect when the user is idle, which could affect features that rely on this information (e.g., preventing the system from sleeping, power management features, or background task scheduling).

:hammer_and_wrench: Summary and Potential Fix

The primary cause of the major errors is the confinement of the Brave Snap package by AppArmor, which is stricter than what the application seems to expect for D-Bus communication with system services like the Secret Service and Mutter Idle Monitor.

If you are experiencing issues with Brave saving passwords or syncing, a common solution is to re-install the Brave browser using a method other than Snap, such as:

  • The official Brave repository (preferred method).

  • A standard .deb or .rpm package.

  • A Flatpak package (which has a different sandboxing model).