Kernel Panic / System Freeze on RPi 4 when creating Docker bridge networks - Debian 13 (Trixie) - Kernel 6.12.75 #7281
Description
Describe the bug
Problem Description:
The system suffers a complete hard freeze (no SSH, no local input, heart-beat LED stops) whenever Docker attempts to create or manage a standard bridge network. This happens consistently during apt upgrade of Docker-related packages or when starting containers with default networking.
Workaround found:
The system is stable only if Docker is forced to disable bridge networking by adding {"bridge": "none"} to /etc/docker/daemon.json. Using --net=host for containers also works without crashing. This points to a regression in the bridge/veth kernel module or its interaction with the RPi 4 network driver in the 6.12.y branch.
Steps to reproduce the behaviour
Use Raspberry Pi OS based on Debian Trixie (Kernel 6.12.75).
Install Docker.
Attempt to run a container with default bridge networking or run docker network create test-bridge.
System freezes immediately and requires a hard power cycle.
Device (s)
Raspberry Pi 4 Mod. B
System
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.4
OS: Raspberry Pi OS / Debian 13 (Trixie)
GPU firmware: Aug 20 2025, cd866525580337c0aee4b25880e1f5f9f674fb24
EEPROM VL805: 000138cO
Kernel: 6.12.75+rpt-rpi-v8
Docker Version: Latest from Debian 13 repos
Logs
No response
Additional context
Diagnostic info:
I have had to manually fix /var/lib/dpkg/status multiple times as the crash occurs mid-configuration during apt upgrade, leaving the package database in an inconsistent state.