[BUG] Claude Code sessions cause Windows kernel BSODs (0x139, 0x1E, 0x50) — not application crashes, full OS crashes requiring hard reboot

[joe-hireable]

Preflight Checklist

• I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

This is NOT a duplicate of the existing Bun crash issues (#21875, #27847, #18405). Those issues document Bun application-level segfaults and panics. This issue documents the next level of severity: Claude Code sessions are causing Windows kernel blue screens (BSODs) — full operating system crashes that require hard reboots and risk file system corruption.

I experienced 5 BSODs in 2 days (1–2 March 2026), all during or immediately after Claude Code sessions. The system is otherwise completely stable under sustained heavy loads (gaming, development, compilation).

Why this is distinct from existing Bun crash issues

Existing issues (#21875, #27847)	This issue
Bun process segfaults/panics	Windows kernel crashes (BSODs)
Claude Code exits to terminal	Entire OS goes down — all apps, all unsaved work lost
Recovery: restart Claude Code	Recovery: hard reboot required
Risk: lost session state	Risk: file system corruption, hardware damage from unclean shutdowns
Bugcheck: none (user-mode crash)	Bugcheck codes: 0x139, 0x1E, 0x50 (kernel-mode failures)
Minidumps: Bun crash reports	Minidumps: Windows kernel crash dumps with bugcheck analysis

The Bun memory corruption documented in #21875 (N-API race conditions, GC use-after-free) appears to be severe enough in some cases to propagate beyond user-mode and corrupt kernel-visible structures, particularly through the file system path.

Environment

Component	Value
OS	Windows 11, Build 26200 (x64)
CPU	Intel Core i9-14900HX (32 logical processors)
RAM	32GB
Hardware	PCSpecialist Recoil VIII 17 (TongFang GM7IX8N)
Claude Code	Latest at time of crashes
Installation methods tested	Native install AND npm install — both cause BSODs

BSOD Details (WhoCrashed analysis)

Crash 1 — Mon 02/03/2026 14:24:04
Bugcheck 0x139 KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE — kernel detected corruption of a critical data structure.
Parameters: (0xA, 0x0, 0x0, 0xFFFFEF82EFE267F0)
Dump: C:\Windows\Minidump\030226-24468-01.dmp

Crash 2 — Sun 01/03/2026 17:52:09
Bugcheck 0x139 KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE — identical to Crash 1.
Parameters: (0xA, 0x0, 0x0, 0xFFFFE2809452E7F0)
Dump: C:\Windows\Minidump\030126-25015-01.dmp

Crash 3 — Sun 01/03/2026 17:44:09
Bugcheck 0x1E KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED — kernel-mode unhandled exception.
Parameters: (0xFFFFFFFFC0000005, 0xFFFFF806910B30B0, 0x0, 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)
Dump: C:\Windows\Minidump\030126-24234-01.dmp

Crash 4 — Sun 01/03/2026 17:23:19
Bugcheck 0x1E KMODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED — identical type to Crash 3.
Parameters: (0xFFFFFFFFC0000005, 0xFFFFF806B904DF17, 0x0, 0xFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF)
Dump: C:\Windows\Minidump\030126-24812-01.dmp

Crash 5 — Sun 01/03/2026 17:16:08
Bugcheck 0x50 PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA — invalid system memory referenced.
Module: Ntfs.sys (NT File System Driver)
Parameters: (0xFFFFF806CD582E50, 0x10, 0xFFFFF8064D582E50, 0x2)
Dump: C:\Windows\Minidump\030126-23296-01.dmp

Key observations:

• Crashes 3, 4, and 5 occurred in a 36-minute cascade (17:16 → 17:44 → 17:52), consistent with the cascade degradation pattern documented in Repeated Bun v1.3.5 segfaults -- 78 crashes, root cause identified (Windows + WSL) #21875
• WhoCrashed found no offending third-party drivers in any of the 5 dumps
• The 0x139 parameter 1 = 0xA indicates LIST_ENTRY corruption — consistent with heap corruption propagating to kernel structures
• The 0x1E with code 0xC0000005 (ACCESS_VIOLATION) at kernel addresses suggests corrupted pointers reaching kernel-mode code
• The Ntfs.sys crash is particularly concerning — heavy file I/O during Claude Code sessions may be triggering file system-level corruption
• System is otherwise rock-stable under sustained heavy loads (gaming, other development tools, compilation)

030126-23296-01.dmp
030126-24234-01.dmp
030126-24812-01.dmp
030126-25015-01.dmp
030226-24468-01.dmp

What Should Happen?

Claude Code should never cause an operating system kernel crash. If the Bun runtime encounters memory corruption, it should crash at the application level (as documented in #21875) without propagating corruption to kernel-visible structures. The existing Bun crash issues need to be treated with higher urgency given that the consequences now extend beyond lost sessions to full OS crashes and potential data loss.

Error Messages/Logs

WhoCrashed conclusion:
> 5 crash dumps have been found and analyzed. No offending third party drivers have been found.

I have the 5 minidump files from `C:\Windows\Minidump\` and Windows Event Viewer error logs available. Happy to upload if needed.

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce

1. Windows 11 x64, Intel i9-14900HX, 32GB RAM
2. Install Claude Code (tested both native and npm install — both cause BSODs)
3. Use Claude Code for extended sessions (30+ minutes)
4. System BSODs — no Bun crash dialog, no application-level error, straight to kernel panic and forced reboot

Not deterministic, but 5 BSODs in 2 days makes Claude Code unusable on this machine.

Claude Model

Not sure / Multiple models

Is this a regression?

I don't know

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.1.63 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

PowerShell

Additional Information

Related issues (for context, not duplicates):

• Repeated Bun v1.3.5 segfaults -- 78 crashes, root cause identified (Windows + WSL) #21875 — Comprehensive root cause analysis of Bun segfaults (78 crashes, WinDbg analysis, N-API race condition identified). My BSODs appear to be the kernel-level consequence of the same underlying memory corruption.
• [BUG] Repeated Bun panic "switch on corrupt value" on Windows 11 x64 during long sessions (v2.1.50 / Bun 1.3.10) #27847 — Confirms the problem persists on Bun 1.3.10 with switch on corrupt value panics.
• [BUG] orphaned processes from subagents crashing computer #18405 — Orphaned subagent processes accumulating 1GB+ RAM, contributing to system-wide instability.
• Kernel panic: 3 Claude processes hit 17.3 GB resident on 18 GB machine, MacBook powered off (v2.1.37) #24960 — Kernel panic on macOS from Claude Code memory leak — same pattern of Claude Code causing OS-level crashes, different platform.
• Critical Memory Leak: Claude Code Consumed 129GB RAM and Caused System Freeze #11315 — 129GB memory leak causing system freeze on Linux — same pattern, different platform.
• [Windows] N-API vtable corruption causes segfault, TUI escape, and orphaned processes in Bun v1.3.10 oven-sh/bun#27471 — N-API vtable corruption causing full computer lockups (filed on Bun repo, documents 5 hard reboots in 8 days).

What I've ruled out:

• Hardware: System is stable under all other workloads including sustained gaming and heavy compilation
• Drivers: WhoCrashed found no third-party driver involvement
• BIOS: Aware of Intel 13th/14th Gen microcode issues. While I plan to check for a BIOS update, crashes are exclusively correlated with Claude Code sessions, not general usage
• Installation method: Tested both native and npm — identical behaviour
• Terminal: Tested on PowerShell and WSL, Integrated VS Code Terminal as well as Standalone. BSOD Issues persist.
• RAM: 32GB, no issues detected in other workloads

[github-actions]

Found 3 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] CRITICAL - Claude Code crashing my PC and forcing reboot. Not RAM/memory issue #30094
2. [BUG] orphaned processes from subagents crashing computer #18405
3. [BUG] Claude CLI Code tool is completely crashing my computer. Your software is crap #15291

This issue will be automatically closed as a duplicate in 3 days.

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🤖 Generated with Claude Code

[joe-hireable]

@Jarred-Sumner

[joe-hireable]

@bcherny

[Lumengine]

Same on my side. I had 15 BSOD yesterday, even with simple session (around 5min). It's barely unusable.

[VRDate]

This is the same root cause I documented in #32870 with full WinDbg analysis.

Root cause: Wof.sys (Windows Overlay Filter) version 10.0.26100.5074 has a CFG (Control Flow Guard) bug at WofPreDirectoryControlCallback+0x695. Claude Code's heavy NtQueryDirectoryFileEx calls (from Glob/Grep tools scanning directories) trigger this crash.

Your 0x139 with parameter 0xA = GUARD_ICALL_CHECK_FAILURE — that's the exact same CFG indirect-call guard violation I see. The 0x1E and 0x50 are likely cascading from the same Wof.sys corruption.

My stats: 11 BSODs across 3 days (7 + 1 + 3), all triggered by claude.exe doing directory listings. @Lumengine's 15 BSODs in one day is consistent with this pattern.

Workaround: compact /CompactOS:never (from elevated cmd) reduces frequency but doesn't eliminate crashes — Wof.sys callback fires on every directory IRP regardless of CompactOS state.

Microsoft bug report: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5814272/wof-sys-bsod-0x139-kernel-security-check-failure-i

WinDbg failure bucket: 0x139_a_GUARD_ICALL_CHECK_FAILURE_Wof!WofPreDirectoryControlCallback+0x695
Failure hash: {78ac0991-5393-0281-b23b-ce115373dc6d}

All minidumps + diagnostics: Google Drive ZIP

[VRDate]

Correction on root cause theory: The original issue attributes BSODs to "Bun memory corruption propagating to kernel structures" — this is not what's happening. User-mode memory corruption cannot cause a CFG guard failure in a kernel driver.

The 0x139 parameter 0xA (GUARD_ICALL_CHECK_FAILURE) is a compile-time Control Flow Guard check inside Wof.sys — it means the driver's own indirect call dispatch table has an invalid target at offset +0x695. This is a code defect in the driver binary itself, not corruption from outside.

These are two separate bugs:

Bun crashes (#21875)	Kernel BSODs (this issue)
User-mode: Bun process segfaults	Kernel-mode: Wof.sys driver crashes
Cause: Bun N-API race / GC issues	Cause: Wof.sys CFG bug at WofPreDirectoryControlCallback+0x695
Fix owner: Anthropic / Oven (Bun)	Fix owner: Microsoft
Effect: claude.exe exits	Effect: entire OS crashes

Claude Code just happens to trigger both: Bun crashes from its runtime, and the Wof.sys BSOD from its heavy directory enumeration (NtQueryDirectoryFileEx).

@Lumengine — try compact /CompactOS:never from an elevated command prompt. It won't fully fix it but should reduce the crash rate significantly.

[zhimin-z]

Same for me...