[Bug]: U-Boot logs induce a crash in ATF for the NanoPi NEO Core 2 board (Allwinner H5)

[wrightyjacqueline-ui]

What happened?

When I flash a recent image such as Armbian_community_26.2.0-trunk.592_Nanopineocore2_trixie_current_6.18.18_minimal.img, or if I build it from master or recent tag versions, I have the following Unhandled Exception in EL3 :

NOTICE:  BL31: v2.12.4(debug):armbian
NOTICE:  BL31: Built : 21:44:15, Jan 15 2026
NOTICE:  BL31: Detected Allwinner H5 SoC (1718)
NOTICE:  BL31: Found U-Boot DTB at 0x20a45b0, model: FriendlyARM NanoPi NEO Core 2
INFO:    ARM GICv2 driver initialized
INFO:    Configuring SPC Controller
NOTICE:  PMIC: Assuming H5 reference regulator design
INFO:    BL31: Platform setup done
INFO:    BL31: Initializing runtime services
INFO:    BL31: cortex_a53: CPU workaround for erratum 855873 was applied
INFO:    BL31: cortex_a53: CPU workaround for erratum 1530924 was applied
SCP/INF: Crust v0.6.10000
INFO:    PSCI: Suspend is available via SCPI
INFO:    BL31: Preparing for EL3 exit to normal world
INFO:    Entry point address = 0x4a000000
INFO:    SPSR = 0x3c9
INFO:    Changed devicetree.
ns16550_serial serial@1c28000: pinctrl_select_state_full: uclass_get_device_by_phandle_id: err=-19


U-Boot 2024.01_armbian-2024.01-S866c-Pab34-H5afb-V9d8a-B61c5-R448a (Mar 01 2026 - 09:12:32 +0000) Allwinner Technology

CPU:   Allwinner H5 (SUN50I)
Model: FriendlyARM NanoPi NEO Core 2
DRAM:  512 MiB
Core:  61 devices, 19 uclasses, devicetree: separate
WDT:   Not starting watchdog@1c20ca0
MMC:   mmc@1c0f000: 0, mmc@1c11000: 1
Loading Environment from FAT... Unable to use mmc 0:1...
In:    serial,usbkbd
Out:   serial,vidconsole
Err:   serial,vidconsole
Net:   No ethernet found.
** Reading file would overwrite reserved memory **
Failed to load '/boot/boot.bmp'
There is no valid bmp file at the given address
starting USB...
Bus usb@1c1b000: USB EHCI 1.00
scanning bus usb@1c1b000 for devices... 1 USB Device(s) found
       scanning usb for storage devices... 0 Storage Device(s) found
Autoboot in 1 seconds, press <Space> to stop
switch to partitions #0, OK
mmc0 is current device
Scanning mmc 0:1...
Found U-Boot script /boot/boot.scr
4641 bytes read in 3 ms (1.5 MiB/s)
## Executing script at 4fc00000
U-boot loaded from SD
Boot script loaded from mmc
183 bytes read in 2 ms (88.9 KiB/s)
Load fdt: /boot/dtb/allwinner/sun50i-h5-nanopi-neo-core2.dtb
32026 bytes read in 7 ms (4.4 MiB/s)
Working FDT set to 4fa00000
504 bytes read in 4 ms (123 KiB/s)
Applying kernel provided DT overlay sun50i-h5-usbhost1.dtbo
504 bytes read in 4 ms (123 KiB/s)
Applying kernel provided DT overlay sun50i-h5-usbhost2.dtbo
4191 bytes read in 4 ms (1022.5 KiB/s)
Applying kernel provided DT fixup script (sun50i-h5-fixup.scr)
## Executing script at 45000000
16564030 bytes read in 687 ms (23 MiB/s)
39950848 bytes read in 1653 ms (23 MiB/s)
Moving Image from 0x40080000 to 0x40200000, end=42900000
## Loading init Ramdisk from Legacy Image at 4ff00000 ...
   Image Name:   uInitrd
   Image Type:   AArch64 Linux RAMDisk Image (gzip compressed)
   Data Size:    16563966 Bytes = 15.8 MiB
   Load Address: 00000000
   Entry Point:  00000000
   Verifying Checksum ... OK
## Flattened Device Tree blob at 4fa00000
   Booting using the fdt blob at 0x4fa00000
Working FDT set to 4fa00000
   Loading Ramdisk to 49034000, end 49fffefe ... OK
   Loading Device Tree to 0000000048fc3000, end 0000000049033fff ... OK
Working FDT set to 48fc3000

Starting kernel ...

Unhandled Exception in EL3.
x30            = 0x000000000004933c
x0             = 0x00000004a07035e0
x1             = 0x0000000000000002
x2             = 0x00000000000117f4
x3             = 0x0000000000000002
x4             = 0x0000000000015020
x5             = 0x0000000030cd183b
x6             = 0xb42b662122a85ae2
x7             = 0x0000000000000000
x8             = 0x111448468a37e220
x9             = 0x0000000000044200
x10            = 0x0000000000049e18
x11            = 0xa04082043bf24999
x12            = 0x51fd05b2bafc2100
x13            = 0x348080b6d50e1a84
x14            = 0x0000000000000004
x15            = 0x0000000041033020
x16            = 0x43065020db878888
x17            = 0x00401400d2b18800
x18            = 0x0d880521c8970800
x19            = 0x0000000000000002
x20            = 0x0400099889e70421
x21            = 0x0000000000000001
x22            = 0x401837d98776a810
x23            = 0x0109381047e77098
x24            = 0xcac060189fef8801
x25            = 0x4904bb7906188201
x26            = 0x1090696ef8fd05a0
x27            = 0x99bece88023ac440
x28            = 0x021201287f98600c
x29            = 0x00000000000117b0
scr_el3        = 0x0000000000000238
sctlr_el3      = 0x0000000030cd183f
cptr_el3       = 0x0000000080000400
tcr_el3        = 0x0000000080803524
daif           = 0x00000000000003c0
mair_el3       = 0x00000000004404ff
spsr_el3       = 0x00000000600002cc
elr_el3        = 0x0000000000044318
ttbr0_el3      = 0x0000000000013000
esr_el3        = 0x0000000096000004
far_el3        = 0x00000004a07035e8
spsr_el1       = 0x000000003c054693
elr_el1        = 0x4048902010602080
spsr_abt       = 0x000000003c1a4b87
spsr_und       = 0x00000000821ac9db
spsr_irq       = 0x00000000901f3158
spsr_fiq       = 0x000000004010c5ae
sctlr_el1      = 0x0000000000c50838
actlr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
cpacr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
csselr_el1     = 0x0000000000000000
sp_el1         = 0x00404034ddfc1eca
esr_el1        = 0x0000000022222000
ttbr0_el1      = 0xe9000261d7aa0a29
ttbr1_el1      = 0xbf10f0a5f42969ab
mair_el1       = 0x44e048e000098aa4
amair_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
tcr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
tpidr_el1      = 0x214203a9e32d9605
tpidr_el0      = 0x90840004652c2371
tpidrro_el0    = 0x304c42075052f034
par_el1        = 0x090000733dbd52cc
mpidr_el1      = 0x0000000080000001
afsr0_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
afsr1_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
contextidr_el1 = 0x0000000000000000
vbar_el1       = 0x0000000000000000
cntp_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000002
cntp_cval_el0  = 0x08105940ee108e39
cntv_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000000
cntv_cval_el0  = 0x288808810a001888
cntkctl_el1    = 0x0000000000000000
sp_el0         = 0x00000000000117b0
isr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
dacr32_el2     = 0x00000000082e0000
ifsr32_el2     = 0x0000000000000222
cpuectlr_el1   = 0x0000000000000040
cpumerrsr_el1  = 0x0000000000000000
l2merrsr_el1   = 0x0000000000000000
cpuactlr_el1   = 0x00001000090ca000
gicc_hppir     = 0x00000000000003ff
gicc_ahppir    = 0x00000000000003ff
gicc_ctlr      = 0x0000000000000000
gicd_ispendr regs (Offsets 0x200-0x278)
Offset                  Value
0x200:           0x0000000000000000
0x208:           0x0000000000000000
0x210:           0x0000000000000000
0x218:           0x0000000000000000
0x220:           0x0000000000000000
0x228:           0x0000000000000000
0x230:           0x0000000000000000
0x238:           0x0000000000000000
0x240:           0x0000000000000000
0x248:           0x0000000000000000
0x250:           0x0000000000000000
0x258:           0x0000000000000000
0x260:           0x0000000000000000
0x268:           0x0000000000000000
0x270:           0x0000000000000000
0x278:           0x0000000000000000
Unhandled Exception in EL3.
x30            = 0x000000000004933c
x0             = 0x00000004a07035e0
x1             = 0x0000000000000002
x2             = 0x0000000000011bf4
x3             = 0x0000000000000002
x4             = 0x0000000000015020
x5             = 0x0000000030cd183b
x6             = 0x376d8465bed991fa
x7             = 0x0000000000000000
x8             = 0x1dbb1b8e45b3c421
x9             = 0x0000000000044200
x10            = 0x0000000000049e18
x11            = 0xbdf7c1341a670488
x12            = 0x80388182172de014
x13            = 0x0b46ee822caf46c0
x14            = 0x0000000000000004
x15            = 0x0000000041033020
x16            = 0x08810216d77f2608
x17            = 0x4c29b16a3ec44000
x18            = 0xb88ea86ee2140100
x19            = 0x0000000000000002
x20            = 0x81c1d4f82dc0020c
x21            = 0x0000000000000002
x22            = 0x0402248bbaab0002
x23            = 0xd0bcb8065a690c80
x24            = 0x4232989deefd1000
x25            = 0x0913798fac6f009a
x26            = 0x61048d65fcef9393
x27            = 0x7821a00002da5407
x28            = 0x4037ec4bd7ac0a02
x29            = 0x0000000000011bb0
scr_el3        = 0x0000000000000238
sctlr_el3      = 0x0000000030cd183f
cptr_el3       = 0x0000000080000400
tcr_el3        = 0x0000000080803524
daif           = 0x00000000000003c0
mair_el3       = 0x00000000004404ff
spsr_el3       = 0x00000000600002cc
elr_el3        = 0x0000000000044318
ttbr0_el3      = 0x0000000000013000
esr_el3        = 0x0000000096000004
far_el3        = 0x00000004a07035e8
spsr_el1       = 0x00000000ee051a88
elr_el1        = 0x6280ca40eeedda81
spsr_abt       = 0x000000005e16f300
spsr_und       = 0x00000000720ba739
spsr_irq       = 0x00000000061da06b
spsr_fiq       = 0x00000000be1922ae
sctlr_el1      = 0x0000000000c50838
actlr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
cpacr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
csselr_el1     = 0x0000000000000000
sp_el1         = 0x1a400775d737a0a1
esr_el1        = 0x0000000008042829
ttbr0_el1      = 0x01d8a0a10c68c89b
ttbr1_el1      = 0xab64bb6f4daf7c1b
mair_el1       = 0x44e048e000098aa4
amair_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
tcr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
tpidr_el1      = 0x285c19e701334825
tpidr_el0      = 0xbcaa31e036ba1a08
tpidrro_el0    = 0x4540240ed3301078
par_el1        = 0x6300002756405e79
mpidr_el1      = 0x0000000080000002
afsr0_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
afsr1_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
contextidr_el1 = 0x0000000000000000
vbar_el1       = 0x0000000000000000
cntp_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000002
cntp_cval_el0  = 0x88d1933354018411
cntv_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000002
cntv_cval_el0  = 0x1004000600063091
cntkctl_el1    = 0x0000000000000000
sp_el0         = 0x0000000000011bb0
isr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
dacr32_el2     = 0x000000004e99ba02
ifsr32_el2     = 0x0000000000000222
cpuectlr_el1   = 0x0000000000000040
cpumerrsr_el1  = 0x0000000000000000
l2merrsr_el1   = 0x0000000000000000
cpuactlr_el1   = 0x00001000090ca000
gicc_hppir     = 0x00000000000003ff
gicc_ahppir    = 0x00000000000003ff
gicc_ctlr      = 0x0000000000000000
gicd_ispendr regs (Offsets 0x200-0x278)
Offset                  Value
0x200:           0x0000000000000000
0x208:           0x0000000000000000
0x210:           0x0000000000000000
0x218:           0x0000000000000000
0x220:           0x0000000000000000
0x228:           0x0000000000000000
0x230:           0x0000000000000000
0x238:           0x0000000000000000
0x240:           0x0000000000000000
0x248:           0x0000000000000000
0x250:           0x0000000000000000
0x258:           0x0000000000000000
0x260:           0x0000000000000000
0x268:           0x0000000000000000
0x270:           0x0000000000000000
0x278:           0x0000000000000000
Unhandled Exception in EL3.
x30            = 0x000000000004933c
x0             = 0x00000004a07035e0
x1             = 0x0000000000000002
x2             = 0x0000000000011ff4
x3             = 0x0000000000000002
x4             = 0x0000000000015020
x5             = 0x0000000030cd183b
x6             = 0x36df032035f1d9e7
x7             = 0x0000000000000000
x8             = 0x59080a643787bca3
x9             = 0x0000000000044200
x10            = 0x0000000000049e18
x11            = 0xb01582886b4a0900
x12            = 0x03b15004ff7fc669
x13            = 0x20022412fd39d428
x14            = 0x0000000000000004
x15            = 0x0000000041033020
x16            = 0x832166288ca4248e
x17            = 0x85486015a56e8810
x18            = 0x95cd020bf5ed4404
x19            = 0x0000000000000002
x20            = 0x001122b04addf9e4
x21            = 0x0000000000000003
x22            = 0x084206b4f9ef0440
x23            = 0x8401ea02f9fdeee4
x24            = 0x220268efffbb4000
x25            = 0x24a438976cf7cae2
x26            = 0x48436582c7ff04a0
x27            = 0x842cfd283dfb1a10
x28            = 0xe04404f7cd7b9a73
x29            = 0x0000000000011fb0
scr_el3        = 0x0000000000000238
sctlr_el3      = 0x0000000030cd183f
cptr_el3       = 0x0000000080000400
tcr_el3        = 0x0000000080803524
daif           = 0x00000000000003c0
mair_el3       = 0x00000000004404ff
spsr_el3       = 0x00000000600002cc
elr_el3        = 0x0000000000044318
ttbr0_el3      = 0x0000000000013000
esr_el3        = 0x0000000096000004
far_el3        = 0x00000004a07035e8
spsr_el1       = 0x00000000881170cb
elr_el1        = 0x8000268690b528c5
spsr_abt       = 0x000000002001873e
spsr_und       = 0x0000000062197100
spsr_irq       = 0x00000000360083fb
spsr_fiq       = 0x000000007c118a9c
sctlr_el1      = 0x0000000000c50838
actlr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
cpacr_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
csselr_el1     = 0x0000000000000000
sp_el1         = 0x24440020dddfb211
esr_el1        = 0x0000000000008300
ttbr0_el1      = 0x19007c6658f280d0
ttbr1_el1      = 0x6702d08530e06a38
mair_el1       = 0x44e048e000098aa4
amair_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
tcr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
tpidr_el1      = 0x8330402500959e83
tpidr_el0      = 0x1f608504063ae032
tpidrro_el0    = 0x7c91171883fd8140
par_el1        = 0x3b000067cc085316
mpidr_el1      = 0x0000000080000003
afsr0_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
afsr1_el1      = 0x0000000000000000
contextidr_el1 = 0x0000000000000000
vbar_el1       = 0x0000000000000000
cntp_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000002
cntp_cval_el0  = 0x002b9ca14b56e9f2
cntv_ctl_el0   = 0x0000000000000000
cntv_cval_el0  = 0x00c3cc11043301da
cntkctl_el1    = 0x0000000000000000
sp_el0         = 0x0000000000011fb0
isr_el1        = 0x0000000000000000
dacr32_el2     = 0x000000000c018111
ifsr32_el2     = 0x0000000000000420
cpuectlr_el1   = 0x0000000000000040
cpumerrsr_el1  = 0x0000000000000000
l2merrsr_el1   = 0x0000000000000000
cpuactlr_el1   = 0x00001000090ca000
gicc_hppir     = 0x00000000000003ff
gicc_ahppir    = 0x00000000000003ff
gicc_ctlr      = 0x0000000000000000
gicd_ispendr regs (Offsets 0x200-0x278)
Offset                  Value
0x200:           0x0000000000000000
0x208:           0x0000000000000000
0x210:           0x0000000000000000
0x218:           0x0000000000000000
0x220:           0x0000000000000000
0x228:           0x0000000000000000
0x230:           0x0000000000000000
0x238:           0x0000000000000000
0x240:           0x0000000000000000
0x248:           0x0000000000000000
0x250:           0x0000000000000000
0x258:           0x0000000000000000
0x260:           0x0000000000000000
0x268:           0x0000000000000000
0x270:           0x0000000000000000
0x278:           0x0000000000000000
Loading, please wait...
Starting systemd-udevd version 257.9-1~deb13u1
Begin: Loading essential drivers ... done.
Begin: Running /scripts/init-premount ... done.
Begin: Mounting root file system ... Begin: Running /scripts/local-top ... done.
Begin: Running /scripts/local-premount ... Scanning for Btrfs filesystems
done.
Begin: Will now check root file system ... fsck from util-linux 2.41
[/sbin/fsck.ext4 (1) -- /dev/mmcblk0p1] fsck.ext4 -a -C0 /dev/mmcblk0p1 
armbi_root: clean, 28055/83248 files, 294204/332800 blocks
done.
done.
Begin: Running /scripts/local-bottom ... done.
Begin: Running /scripts/init-bottom ... done.
SELinux:  Could not open policy file <= /etc/selinux/default/policy/policy.35:  No such file or directory
p104
Welcome to Armbian-unofficial 26.02.0-trunk trixie!

[  OK  ] Created slice system-modprobe.slice - Slice /system/modprobe.
[  OK  ] Created slice system-serial\x2dget…slice - Slice /system/serial-getty.
[  OK  ] Created slice user.slice - User and Session Slice.
[  OK  ] Started systemd-ask-password-conso…equests to Console Directory Watch.
[  OK  ] Started systemd-ask-password-wall.…d Requests to Wall Directory Watch.
[  OK  ] Set up automount proc-sys-fs-binfm…ormats File System Automount Point.
         Expecting device dev-ttyGS0.device - /dev/ttyGS0...
         Expecting device dev-ttyS0.device - /dev/ttyS0...
[  OK  ] Reached target paths.target - Path Units.
[  OK  ] Reached target remote-fs.target - Remote File Systems.
[  OK  ] Reached target slices.target - Slice Units.
[  OK  ] Reached target swap.target - Swaps.
[  OK  ] Listening on syslog.socket - Syslog Socket.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-creds.socket - Credential Encryption/Decryption.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-initctl.socke…- initctl Compatibility Named Pipe.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-journald-dev-…socket - Journal Socket (/dev/log).
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-journald.socket - Journal Sockets.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-networkd.socket - Network Service Netlink Socket.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-udevd-control.socket - udev Control Socket.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-udevd-kernel.socket - udev Kernel Socket.
         Mounting dev-mqueue.mount - POSIX Message Queue File System...
         Mounting run-lock.mount - Legacy Locks Directory /run/lock...
         Mounting sys-kernel-debug.mount - Kernel Debug File System...
         Mounting sys-kernel-tracing.mount - Kernel Trace File System...
         Starting fake-hwclock-load.service - Restore the current clock...
         Starting keyboard-setup.service - Set the console keyboard layout...
         Starting kmod-static-nodes.service…eate List of Static Device Nodes...
         Starting modprobe@configfs.service - Load Kernel Module configfs...
         Starting modprobe@drm.service - Load Kernel Module drm...
         Starting modprobe@efi_pstore.servi… - Load Kernel Module efi_pstore...
         Starting modprobe@fuse.service - Load Kernel Module fuse...
         Starting systemd-modules-load.service - Load Kernel Modules...
         Starting systemd-network-generator…k units from Kernel command line...
         Starting systemd-udev-load-credent…Load udev Rules from Credentials...
         Starting systemd-udev-trigger.service - Coldplug All udev Devices...
[  OK  ] Mounted dev-mqueue.mount - POSIX Message Queue File System.
[  OK  ] Mounted run-lock.mount - Legacy Locks Directory /run/lock.
[  OK  ] Mounted sys-kernel-debug.mount - Kernel Debug File System.
[  OK  ] Mounted sys-kernel-tracing.mount - Kernel Trace File System.
[  OK  ] Finished fake-hwclock-load.service - Restore the current clock.
[  OK  ] Finished kmod-static-nodes.service…Create List of Static Device Nodes.
[  OK  ] Finished modprobe@configfs.service - Load Kernel Module configfs.
[  OK  ] Finished modprobe@drm.service - Load Kernel Module drm.
[  OK  ] Finished modprobe@efi_pstore.service - Load Kernel Module efi_pstore.
[  OK  ] Finished modprobe@fuse.service - Load Kernel Module fuse.
         Mounting sys-fs-fuse-connections.mount - FUSE Control File System...
         Mounting sys-kernel-config.mount - Kernel Configuration File System...
         Starting systemd-remount-fs.servic…unt Root and Kernel File Systems...
         Starting systemd-tmpfiles-setup-de… Device Nodes in /dev gracefully...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-modules-load.service - Load Kernel Modules.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-network-generator…ork units from Kernel command line.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-udev-load-credent…- Load udev Rules from Credentials.
[  OK  ] Reached target network-pre.target - Preparation for Network.
         Starting systemd-sysctl.service - Apply Kernel Variables...
[  OK  ] Mounted sys-fs-fuse-connections.mount - FUSE Control File System.
[  OK  ] Mounted sys-kernel-config.mount - Kernel Configuration File System.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-remount-fs.servic…mount Root and Kernel File Systems.
         Starting systemd-random-seed.service - Load/Save OS Random Seed...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-tmpfiles-setup-de…ic Device Nodes in /dev gracefully.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-sysctl.service - Apply Kernel Variables.
         Starting systemd-sysusers.service - Create System Users...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-sysusers.service - Create System Users.
         Starting systemd-resolved.service - Network Name Resolution...
         Starting systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization...
         Starting systemd-tmpfiles-setup-de…eate Static Device Nodes in /dev...
[  OK  ] Finished keyboard-setup.service - Set the console keyboard layout.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-tmpfiles-setup-de…Create Static Device Nodes in /dev.
[  OK  ] Reached target local-fs-pre.target…Preparation for Local File Systems.
         Mounting tmp.mount - /tmp...
         Starting systemd-udevd.service - R…ager for Device Events and Files...
[  OK  ] Mounted tmp.mount - /tmp.
[  OK  ] Reached target local-fs.target - Local File Systems.
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-sysext.socket… System Extension Image Management.
         Starting armbian-zram-config.service - Armbian ZRAM config...
         Starting console-setup.service - Set console font and keymap...
         Starting systemd-binfmt.service - Set Up Additional Binary Formats...
         Mounting proc-sys-fs-binfmt_misc.m…cutable File Formats File System...
[  OK  ] Started systemd-timesyncd.service - Network Time Synchronization.
[  OK  ] Reached target time-set.target - System Time Set.
[  OK  ] Mounted proc-sys-fs-binfmt_misc.mo…xecutable File Formats File System.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-udev-trigger.service - Coldplug All udev Devices.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-random-seed.service - Load/Save OS Random Seed.
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-binfmt.service - Set Up Additional Binary Formats.
         Starting systemd-machine-id-commit…ave Transient machine-id to Disk...
[  OK  ] Started systemd-resolved.service - Network Name Resolution.
[  OK  ] Started systemd-udevd.service - Ru…anager for Device Events and Files.
[  OK  ] Reached target nss-lookup.target - Host and Network Name Lookups.
         Starting systemd-networkd.service - Network Configuration...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-machine-id-commit… Save Transient machine-id to Disk.
[  OK  ] Found device dev-ttyGS0.device - /dev/ttyGS0.
[  OK  ] Reached target usb-gadget.target - Hardware activated USB gadget.
[  OK  ] Found device dev-ttyS0.device - /dev/ttyS0.
[  OK  ] Finished armbian-zram-config.service - Armbian ZRAM config.
         Starting armbian-ramlog.service - Armbian memory supported logging...
[  OK  ] Listening on systemd-rfkill.socket…ll Switch Status /dev/rfkill Watch.
         Starting fake-hwclock-load.service - Restore the current clock...
         Starting modprobe@efi_pstore.servi… - Load Kernel Module efi_pstore...
[  OK  ] Finished fake-hwclock-load.service - Restore the current clock.
[  OK  ] Finished modprobe@efi_pstore.service - Load Kernel Module efi_pstore.
[  OK  ] Started systemd-networkd.service - Network Configuration.
         Starting systemd-networkd-persiste…tent Storage in systemd-networkd...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-networkd-persiste…istent Storage in systemd-networkd.
[  OK  ] Finished armbian-ramlog.service - Armbian memory supported logging.
         Starting systemd-journald.service - Journal Service...
[  OK  ] Started systemd-journald.service - Journal Service.
         Starting systemd-journal-flush.ser…sh Journal to Persistent Storage...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-journal-flush.ser…lush Journal to Persistent Storage.
         Starting systemd-tmpfiles-setup.se…ate System Files and Directories...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-tmpfiles-setup.se…reate System Files and Directories.
         Starting ldconfig.service - Rebuild Dynamic Linker Cache...
         Starting systemd-journal-catalog-u…ervice - Rebuild Journal Catalog...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-journal-catalog-u….service - Rebuild Journal Catalog.
[  OK  ] Finished ldconfig.service - Rebuild Dynamic Linker Cache.
         Starting systemd-update-done.service - Update is Completed...
[  OK  ] Finished systemd-update-done.service - Update is Completed.
[  OK  ] Reached target sysinit.target - System Initialization.
[  OK  ] Started apt-daily.timer - Daily apt download activities.
[  OK  ] Started apt-daily-upgrade.timer - …y apt upgrade and clean activities.
[  OK  ] Started dpkg-db-backup.timer - Daily dpkg database backup timer.
[  OK  ] Started e2scrub_all.timer - Period…Metadata Check for All Filesystems.
[  OK  ] Started fake-hwclock-save.timer - Periodically save current clock.
[  OK  ] Started fstrim.timer - Discard unused filesystem blocks once a week.
[  OK  ] Started logrotate.timer - Daily rotation of log files.
[  OK  ] Started man-db.timer - Daily man-db regeneration.
[  OK  ] Started systemd-tmpfiles-clean.tim…y Cleanup of Temporary Directories.
[  OK  ] Reached target timers.target - Timer Units.
[  OK  ] Listening on dbus.socket - D-Bus System Message Bus Socket.
Welcome to Armbian-unofficial! 

Documentation: https://docs.armbian.com/ | Community support: https://community.armbian.com/

IP address: 10.10.0.104 

root@nanopineocore2:~# nproc
1

So the system boots up but only one CPU is working, the other 3 are offline, maybe something like #9521 ?
By following elr_el3, it crashes in psci_get_parent_pwr_domain_nodes when called in psci_warmboot_entrypoint where it tries to access unmapped memory.

• When I flash this older image : Armbian_23.11.1_Nanopineocore2_bookworm_current_6.1.63.img, the problem is not there, all CPUs are UP

• When I use dd to copy the uboot/crust/atf partition from the old working image to the new one, the problem is not there anymore. So it looks like the problem is among theses bootloaders

• It also works if I do the dd with the u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin built from the repo tags:

  • v23.11.1 : ATF v2.9.0 UBOOT v2023.10
  • v23.11.2 : ATF v2.9.0 UBOOT v2024.01-rc5
  • v25.2.1 : ATF v2.9.0 UBOOT v2024.01
  • v25.5.1 : ATF lts-v2.12.1 UBOOT v2024.01
  • v25.8.1 : ATF lts-v2.12.4 UBOOT v2024.01
  • v25.11.1 : ATF lts-v2.12.4 UBOOT v2024.01

• However it breaks if I do the dd with the u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin built from the repo tags:

  • v26.2.1 : ATF lts-v2.12.4 UBOOT v2024.01

So it does not come from the versions of UBoot/ATF directly, but maybe from new patches applied between the versions, here is a git bissect :

cd armbian-bisect
git bisect start
git bisect bad v26.2.1        # broken
git bisect good v25.11.1      # works
status: waiting for both good and bad commits
status: waiting for good commit(s), bad commit known
Bisecting: 388 revisions left to test after this (roughly 9 steps)
[d79582dd76b74bc02711eec3498c9238f8a38cf8] sunxi: refactor full patchset

git bisect bad
Bisecting: 193 revisions left to test after this (roughly 8 steps)
[27d283ced905bf64c4c8fbfe5cdc68363990bbdb] mekotronics-r58-4x4: add v2026.01 mainline u-boot

git bisect good
Bisecting: 96 revisions left to test after this (roughly 7 steps)
[0c21be1f67b9a232188bd1aca18c696e99dcc7f9] framework & kernel options - simplify armbian_kernel_config_apply_opts_from_arrays, no more ambiguity opts_m vs opts_y

git bisect good
Bisecting: 48 revisions left to test after this (roughly 6 steps)
[a03b88841cbac3cabede71b7a815606c2797066d] genio: u-boot: patch: mt8195: adjust memory size at runtime and fixup fdt

git bisect good
Bisecting: 24 revisions left to test after this (roughly 5 steps)
[287931ac6e21f0b5d53cb293479adb66536e0bef] armbian-kernel: more eBPF-oriented options for userspace tooling

git bisect good
Bisecting: 12 revisions left to test after this (roughly 4 steps)
[e8a8754a0416af24d4ffbd3d85a87145687c2342] copy armhf overlays

git bisect bad
Bisecting: 5 revisions left to test after this (roughly 3 steps)
[a85a5aef674c47f7af67353346482166e9d12415] patching: introduce `add-only` mode for DT Makefile AutoPatcher

git bisect bad
Bisecting: 2 revisions left to test after this (roughly 2 steps)
[6e7d2798e3b9c2869b153ade5768b9ef6a81a2c9] u-boot: allow custom LOGLEVEL with `UBOOT_LOGLEVEL` (default to 6)

git bisect bad
Bisecting: 0 revisions left to test after this (roughly 1 step)
[7213d8e8c6c3c01a56857246e44ca71e9685b150] u-boot: better CONFIG_LOG/LOGLEVEL/LOG_MAX_LEVEL (=6)

git bisect bad
Bisecting: 0 revisions left to test after this (roughly 0 steps)
[d7a4c1b3ab001c52d50107e81c61075cc960866b] Fix broken patch due to upstream changes, drop edge kernel as its not used

git bisect good
7213d8e8c6c3c01a56857246e44ca71e9685b150 is the first bad commit
commit 7213d8e8c6c3c01a56857246e44ca71e9685b150
Author: Ricardo Pardini <ricardo@pardini.net>
Date:   Wed Nov 12 23:22:48 2025 +0100

    u-boot: better CONFIG_LOG/LOGLEVEL/LOG_MAX_LEVEL (=6)

 lib/functions/compilation/uboot.sh | 2 ++
 1 file changed, 2 insertions(+)

So the commit introducing the crash seems to be 7213d8e8c6c3c01a56857246e44ca71e9685b150. And by doing the following, I can confirm that disabling U-Boot logs prevents the crash from happening:

git clone -b v26.2.0-trunk.589 --depth=1 https://github.com/armbian/build.git armbian-fix
cd armbian-fix

# I comment the following line in lib/functions/compilation/uboot.sh :
# run_host_command_logged scripts/config --enable CONFIG_LOG

./compile.sh \
BOARD=nanopineocore2 \
BRANCH=current \
RELEASE=trixie \
BUILD_MINIMAL=yes \
KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no

# On the board:
root@nanopineocore2:~# nproc 
4

root@nanopineocore2:~# uname -a
Linux nanopineocore2 6.18.18-current-sunxi64 #1 SMP PREEMPT Fri Mar 13 16:23:30 UTC 2026 aarch64 GNU/Linux

root@nanopineocore2:~# cat /etc/os-release 
PRETTY_NAME="Armbian-unofficial 26.05.0-trunk trixie"
NAME="Debian GNU/Linux"
VERSION_ID="13"
VERSION="13 (trixie)"
VERSION_CODENAME=trixie
DEBIAN_VERSION_FULL=13.4
ID=debian
HOME_URL="https://www.armbian.com"
SUPPORT_URL="https://forum.armbian.com"
BUG_REPORT_URL="https://www.armbian.com/bugs"
ARMBIAN_PRETTY_NAME="Armbian-unofficial 26.05.0-trunk trixie"

• The problem disappears, so enabling U-Boot logging seems to induce a crash in the ATF procedure that power up the secondary CPUs.

NOTE: I am using a version of the board that has 512MB of RAM, not 1GB
NOTE: To compile u-boot-sunxi-with-spl.bin I used the following command:

./compile.sh uboot \
BOARD=nanopineocore2 \
BRANCH=current \
ARTIFACT_IGNORE_CACHE=yes \
CLEAN_LEVEL="make-atf,make-uboot"

How to reproduce?

Flash latest image for the Nanopi Neo Core 2 board and observe the crash through UART logs.

Branch

main (main development branch)

On which host OS are you running the build script and observing this problem?

Ubuntu 24.04 Noble

Are you building on Windows WSL2?

• Yes, my Ubuntu/Debian/OtherOS is running on WSL2

Relevant log URL

No response

Code of Conduct

• I agree to follow this project's Code of Conduct

[github-actions]

Hey @wrightyjacqueline-ui! 👋

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[github-actions]

Jira ticket: AR-2840

[igorpecovnik]

So the system boots up but only one CPU is working, the other 3 are offline, maybe something like

Yes, we are seeing this on many Allwinner boards - so far we didn't find a solution yet. For hardware related problems, consult with the community https://forum.armbian.com/forum/173-allwinner-sunxi/ This is build framework issue tracker.

[tabrisnet]

might it be worthwhile to see what we can do to make a uboot hook optout like the one for armbian-kernel.sh.
It does look like it would involve a bit of surgery, and it would be a workaround not a fix.
I wouldn't say we should be debugging this here, but I'd ask something else to OP: can you track it down to an Armbian patch to u-boot? or is it an upstream bug?
if you do make an armbian forum thread, please post it here.

[tabrisnet]

@AGM1968 heads up

[tabrisnet]

ftr I don't have this hardware, but I do have some Libre Tritium H5, so I may be able to see if this affects them also.

[igorpecovnik]

I wouldn't say we should be debugging this here

We already did here:
#9381
#9549

And we have a dedicated (private channel) Allwinner troubles at Discord. (PM for invite which can contribute in real-time chat)

[EvilOlaf]

I tried this by adding a condition (and entirely removing the two lines in question) but did not work on Allwinner H6 (Opi1+).

[wrightyjacqueline-ui]

I tried this by adding a condition (and entirely removing the two lines in question) but did not work on Allwinner H6 (Opi1+).

To make it work on my H5, I removed this line:

 run_host_command_logged scripts/config --enable CONFIG_LOG

What you did is skip logging level increase, but you need to skip logging entirely, not just logging levels (can't really say why but you should try that)

[vagabundo28]

I tried this by adding a condition (and entirely removing the two lines in question) but did not work on Allwinner H6 (Opi1+).

To make it work on my H5, I removed this line:

run_host_command_logged scripts/config --enable CONFIG_LOG
What you did is skip logging level increase, but you need to skip logging entirely, not just logging levels (can't really say why but you should try that)

I have a question. I'm new to Armbian and Linux. In which file do I remove that line?

[wrightyjacqueline-ui]

I tried this by adding a condition (and entirely removing the two lines in question) but did not work on Allwinner H6 (Opi1+).

To make it work on my H5, I removed this line:
run_host_command_logged scripts/config --enable CONFIG_LOG
What you did is skip logging level increase, but you need to skip logging entirely, not just logging levels (can't really say why but you should try that)

I have a question. I'm new to Armbian and Linux. In which file do I remove that line?

This one :

build/lib/functions/compilation/uboot.sh

Line 154 in 6c1d747

run_host_command_logged scripts/config --enable CONFIG_LOG

In the mean time I created an extension hook in the build process that disable uboot logs so I don't have to modify armbian source, just add a userpatch:

#!/usr/bin/env bash

post_config_uboot_target__disable_log() {
    [[ -f scripts/config ]] || return 0
    # Undo Armbian's forced log enable
	display_alert "u-boot for ${BOARD}/${BRANCH}" "u-boot: disabling CONFIG_LOG to avoid 'Unhandled Exception in EL3' : https://github.com/armbian/build/issues/9555" "info"
    run_host_command_logged scripts/config --disable CONFIG_LOG
}

This is my userpatches/extensions/disable-uboot-log.sh and you need to add this extension when building, such as:

./compile.sh \
BOARD=nanopineocore2 \
BRANCH=current \
RELEASE=bookworm \
BUILD_MINIMAL=yes \
KERNEL_CONFIGURE=no \
ENABLE_EXTENSIONS="disable-uboot-log" \
CLEAN_LEVEL="make-atf,make-uboot"