GDB Error: Unable to Fetch SVE/SSVE Vector Length ("Invalid Argument") on Docker - Ubuntu - Apple M4

[undici77]

Description

I recently transitioned from Apple Silicon M1 Pro to Apple Silicon M4 Max and encountered an issue while debugging a C++ project using GDB. The error message is as follows:

Unable to fetch SVE/SSVE vector length: Invalid argument.

Context:

• Environment: Docker container running Ubuntu (multiple versions tested) on Apple Silicon M4 Max.
• Behavior: The same setup (Docker + GDB) worked flawlessly on Apple Silicon M1 Pro.
• Issue: While the project builds and runs successfully, I cannot debug due to the above error:

    root@ubuntu-dev:/tmp/dev/test# gdb hello-world
    GNU gdb (Ubuntu 15.0.50.20240403-0ubuntu1) 15.0.50.20240403-git
    Copyright (C) 2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
    License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
    This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
    There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
    Type "show copying" and "show warranty" for details.
    This GDB was configured as "aarch64-linux-gnu".
    Type "show configuration" for configuration details.
    For bug reporting instructions, please see:
    <https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/>.
    Find the GDB manual and other documentation resources online at:
        <http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/documentation/>.

    For help, type "help".
    Type "apropos word" to search for commands related to "word"...
    Reading symbols from main...
    (gdb) r
    Starting program: /tmp/dev/test/hello-world
    Unable to fetch SVE/SSVE vector length: Invalid argument.

Additional info:

Same example work on M1

I tried to export/import Docker from/to M1/M4 but result are equal (work on M1 and don't work on M4)
I tried also with Alpine Linux and last version of GCC/GDB and nothing change: M1 ok, M4 same issue

M4 Max CPU Docker info:

root@ubuntu-dev:/tmp/dev# uname -a 
Linux ubuntu-dev 6.10.14-linuxkit #1 SMP Fri Nov 29 17:22:03 UTC 2024 aarch64 aarch64 aarch64 GNU/Linux 
root@ubuntu-dev:/tmp/dev# zcat /proc/config.gz | grep -i sve 
CONFIG_ARM64_SVE=y 

root@ubuntu-dev:/tmp/dev# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor   : 0
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 1
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 2
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 3
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 4
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 5
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 6
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 7
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 8
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 9
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 10
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 11
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 12
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 13
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 14
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

processor   : 15
BogoMIPS    : 48.00
Features    : fp asimd evtstrm aes pmull sha1 sha2 crc32 atomics fphp asimdhp cpuid asimdrdm jscvt fcma lrcpc dcpop sha3 asimddp sha512 asimdfhm dit uscat ilrcpc flagm sb paca pacg dcpodp sve2 flagm2 frint svei8mm svebf16 bf16 afp sme
CPU implementer : 0x61
CPU architecture: 8
CPU variant : 0x0
CPU part    : 0x000
CPU revision    : 0

From these info, it looks M4 MAX issue on sve2

Reproduce

Dockerfile:

FROM ubuntu:24.04

# Disable frontend interaction
ARG DEBIAN_FRONTEND=noninteractive

# Set environment variables
ENV VCPKG_FORCE_SYSTEM_BINARIES=1

# Set user
USER root 

# Define timezone
ENV TZ=Europe/Rome

# Install other necessary packages
RUN apt-get update \
  && apt-get install -y \
      cmake \
      git \
      gcc \
      g++ \
      curl \
      gdb \
      clang \
      make \
      lcov \
      gcovr \
      ninja-build \
      autoconf \
      autoconf-archive \
      automake \
      libtool \
      valgrind \
      locales-all \
      dos2unix \
      rsync \
      zip \
      unzip \
      tar \
      python3 \
      python3-dev \
      pkg-config \
      tzdata \
      nodejs \
      npm \                        
      file \
      libssl-dev \
  && apt-get clean

Steps to reproduce:

• Build the Docker container using the provided Dockerfile and run it.
• Create a simple main.c:

    #include <stdio.h>

    int main() 
    {
        printf("Hello World\n");
        return 0;
    }

• Compile gcc -o main main.c
• Open debugger gdb main
• Run application run and get result:

    root@ubuntu-dev:/tmp/dev# gdb main
    GNU gdb (Ubuntu 15.0.50.20240403-0ubuntu1) 15.0.50.20240403-git
    Copyright (C) 2024 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
    License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>
    This is free software: you are free to change and redistribute it.
    There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
    Type "show copying" and "show warranty" for details.
    This GDB was configured as "aarch64-linux-gnu".
    Type "show configuration" for configuration details.
    For bug reporting instructions, please see:
    <https://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/bugs/>.
    Find the GDB manual and other documentation resources online at:
        <http://www.gnu.org/software/gdb/documentation/>.

    For help, type "help".
    Type "apropos word" to search for commands related to "word"...
    Reading symbols from main...
    (No debugging symbols found in main)
    (gdb) run
    Starting program: /tmp/dev/main
    Unable to fetch SVE/SSVE vector length: Invalid argument.

Expected behavior

GDB don't run application. But it looks SVE/SSVE are not managed correctly!

docker version

Client:
 Version:           27.4.0
 API version:       1.47
 Go version:        go1.22.10
 Git commit:        bde2b89
 Built:             Sat Dec  7 10:35:43 2024
 OS/Arch:           darwin/arm64
 Context:           desktop-linux

Server: Docker Desktop 4.37.2 (179585)
 Engine:
  Version:          27.4.0
  API version:      1.47 (minimum version 1.24)
  Go version:       go1.22.10
  Git commit:       92a8393
  Built:            Sat Dec  7 10:38:33 2024
  OS/Arch:          linux/arm64
  Experimental:     false
 containerd:
  Version:          1.7.21
  GitCommit:        472731909fa34bd7bc9c087e4c27943f9835f111
 runc:
  Version:          1.1.13
  GitCommit:        v1.1.13-0-g58aa920
 docker-init:
  Version:          0.19.0
  GitCommit:        de40ad0

docker info

Client:
 Version:    27.4.0
 Context:    desktop-linux
 Debug Mode: false
 Plugins:
  ai: Ask Gordon - Docker Agent (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.5.1
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-ai
  buildx: Docker Buildx (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.19.2-desktop.1
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-buildx
  compose: Docker Compose (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v2.31.0-desktop.2
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-compose
  debug: Get a shell into any image or container (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  0.0.37
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-debug
  desktop: Docker Desktop commands (Beta) (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.1.0
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-desktop
  dev: Docker Dev Environments (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.1.2
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-dev
  extension: Manages Docker extensions (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v0.2.27
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-extension
  feedback: Provide feedback, right in your terminal! (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.0.5
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-feedback
  init: Creates Docker-related starter files for your project (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.4.0
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-init
  sbom: View the packaged-based Software Bill Of Materials (SBOM) for an image (Anchore Inc.)
    Version:  0.6.0
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-sbom
  scout: Docker Scout (Docker Inc.)
    Version:  v1.15.1
    Path:     /Users/undici77/.docker/cli-plugins/docker-scout

Server:
 Containers: 2
  Running: 1
  Paused: 0
  Stopped: 1
 Images: 8
 Server Version: 27.4.0
 Storage Driver: overlayfs
  driver-type: io.containerd.snapshotter.v1
 Logging Driver: json-file
 Cgroup Driver: cgroupfs
 Cgroup Version: 2
 Plugins:
  Volume: local
  Network: bridge host ipvlan macvlan null overlay
  Log: awslogs fluentd gcplogs gelf journald json-file local splunk syslog
 CDI spec directories:
  /etc/cdi
  /var/run/cdi
 Swarm: inactive
 Runtimes: io.containerd.runc.v2 runc
 Default Runtime: runc
 Init Binary: docker-init
 containerd version: 472731909fa34bd7bc9c087e4c27943f9835f111
 runc version: v1.1.13-0-g58aa920
 init version: de40ad0
 Security Options:
  seccomp
   Profile: unconfined
  cgroupns
 Kernel Version: 6.10.14-linuxkit
 Operating System: Docker Desktop
 OSType: linux
 Architecture: aarch64
 CPUs: 16
 Total Memory: 15.6GiB
 Name: docker-desktop
 ID: 83eee8c8-b500-42a8-bd94-ca240fdad8a1
 Docker Root Dir: /var/lib/docker
 Debug Mode: false
 HTTP Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 HTTPS Proxy: http.docker.internal:3128
 No Proxy: hubproxy.docker.internal
 Labels:
  com.docker.desktop.address=unix:///Users/undici77/Library/Containers/com.docker.docker/Data/docker-cli.sock
 Experimental: false
 Insecure Registries:
  hubproxy.docker.internal:5555
  127.0.0.0/8
 Live Restore Enabled: false

WARNING: daemon is not using the default seccomp profile

Diagnostics ID

094DE817-380D-41AE-813A-E5C2E716AF44/20250110190829

Additional Info

No response