Bug#1126514: libgvc: Crash on Bluetooth headset connection

[Simon McVittie]

Control: clone -1 -2
Control: reassign -2 cinnamon
Control: retitle -2 cinnamon: Assertion failure in libcvc on Bluetooth headset connection
Control: forwarded -2 https://github.com/linuxmint/Cinnamon/issues/13339

On Wed, 28 Jan 2026 at 11:06:24 +0000, Simon McVittie wrote:
>On Tue, 27 Jan 2026 at 14:13:47 -0600, Andreas Kloeckner wrote:
>>gnome-shell currently crashes whenever a Bluetooth headset is connected.
>>(In my case, a Sony WH-1000XM3.) In the system log, messages along these lines can be found:
>>
>>Jan 27 14:08:47 arc gnome-shell[3022]: Gvc:ERROR:../subprojects/gvc/gvc-mixer-stream.c:535:gvc_mixer_stream_get_port: code should not be reached
>...
>>https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2431525
>>
>>In addition, it appears that a fix for this is available upstream, linked in
>>that tracker entry. It would be nice if this fix could be made available in
>>Debian.
>
>To have all the information in one place and not rely on Fedora: this 
>is https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgnome-volume-control/-/merge_requests/31 
>which fixes 
>https://gitlab.gnome.org/GNOME/libgnome-volume-control/-/issues/34.
>
>I'm surprised that you're seeing this without using pipewire from 
>experimental - the upstream issue report implies that it's a 
>regression with newer pipewire? But your bug report seems to indicate 
>that you're using testing/unstable pipewire?
>
>This is a bug in a "copylib" that is not packaged separately because 
>it has an unstable API/ABI (libgvc), so unfortunately it needs to be 
>fixed in multiple places.
>
>For gnome-shell let's use the original bug #1126514.
[... some other packages ...]
>
>Similar code (a fork) is present in cinnamon-desktop, although it 
>isn't *exactly* the same codebase. Cinnamon team: please check whether 
>Cinnamon also crashes when a Bluetooth headset is connected while 
>using Pipewire for audio; if it does, libcvc will likely need to pick 
>up changes from libgvc. I haven't cloned the bug for cinnamon in case 
>it's unaffected, I don't know how far away libcvc is forked.

Sorry, forgot to cc the Cinnamon team in the previous mail to this bug.

It looks like Cinnamon does have this issue too (there's an upstream bug 
report), so I'm cloning the bug one more time.

     smcv