Bug Report: Wayland-only: dmaAllocMapping_GM107 VA mapping failures (does not reproduce on X11)

Graphics / Linux Linux
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1

Driver versions affected: 580.105.08 and earlier versions (issue reproducible across multiple driver/kernel combinations)
Kernel: 6.17.9-2-cachyos (also observed on earlier kernels)
GPU: GeForce RTX 3080 Founders Edition (GA102, 10 GiB)
Driver type: nvidia-open kernel modules
Desktop session: KDE Plasma Wayland
Application affected: Jellyfin “Delfin” Electron client (NVDEC-accelerated video playback), Various GPU-intensive workloads (e.g., gaming)
ReBAR: Tested enabled and disabled — issue occurs in both cases
Bug report log: nvidia-bug-report.log.gz (506.8 KB)

Summary
The NVIDIA driver eventually begins emitting repeated kernel messages of the form:

NVRM: dmaAllocMapping_GM107: can't alloc VA space for mapping.

This occurs reliably after ~30–45 minutes of NVDEC hardware-accelerated video playback, and also intermittently during other GPU-intensive workloads such as gaming.

Impact differs by workload:

  • During video playback: the video output turns blank, and the application must be restarted, but the desktop remains responsive.

  • During heavier GPU workloads (e.g., games): the same error sometimes leads to noticeable stalls, and in some cases a full system freeze (impossible to switch to another TTY).

The issue has been reproduced across multiple NVIDIA driver versions and multiple kernel versions, with and without ReBAR enabled.

No Xid codes are generated — only the repeated VA-space allocation failure message.

Reproduction Steps (most reliable via NVDEC)

  1. Start KDE Plasma Wayland session.

  2. Launch HW accelerated video playback (for example with Delfin, a Jellyfin client).

  3. Ensure NVDEC hardware acceleration is enabled.

  4. Play any long video.

  5. After ~30–45 minutes:

    • Video freezes and goes blank.

    • Application must be restarted.

    • Kernel logs begin spamming:

      NVRM: dmaAllocMapping_GM107: can't alloc VA space for mapping.

Observed using:

sudo journalctl -k -f -g NVRM

Observed Behaviour

  • Playback failure and blank video output during NVDEC decoding.

  • Kernel repeatedly logs VA-space allocation errors.

  • No Xid codes or GPU resets logged.

  • Same log message appears during gaming or other heavy GPU tasks, where it may cause stalls or full system freezes.

  • Problem persists:

    • With ReBAR enabled (large BAR1 aperture).

    • With ReBAR disabled (classic 256 MiB BAR1).

    • Across several driver and kernel versions.

  • VRAM usage remains stable; issue appears unrelated to memory pressure.

2

Update: Issue also occurs with software decoding + does NOT reproduce under X11

I have additional information after further testing:

1. The dmaAllocMapping_GM107: can't alloc VA space for mapping error also occurs with hardware decoding completely disabled.

  • I disabled hardware video acceleration in the application.

  • I verified via nvidia-smi dmon -s u that NVDEC usage remained at 0% throughout playback.

  • After a longer period (larget timescale than previous tests, though I’m now inclined to think this is random), the same error eventually appeared in the kernel log.

This suggests the issue is not tied to NVDEC.

2. The issue does not reproduce under a Plasma (X11) session.

I switched from Plasma Wayland to Plasma X11 and tested:

  • multiple hours of continuous video playback

  • gaming workloads

  • other GPU-intensive tasks

The error never appeared, and no playback stalls or freezes occurred.

This strongly suggests that the issue is triggered specifically under Wayland.

3. Summary of updated findings

  • Error occurs even with software decoding only - unrelated to NVDEC.

  • Error occurs under Plasma Wayland during normal usage (video playback or gaming).

  • Error does NOT occur on X11, even after extended stress testing.

  • System remains stable on X11; no VA mapping failures observed.

Let me know if there is any additional logging I can enable to help isolate the problem

3

I see this as well with a similar setup (Arch 6.12.61-1-lts, Driver 580.105.08, GPU 5070 Ti, nvidia-open), and have also noticed it happening even without NVDEC issues.

Another trigger I’ve found is certain webpages in Chrome 143, even with hardware decoding forcibly disabled, such as this one (the most recent one that crashed my system): https://www.nokia.com/broadband-access/in-home-connectivity/home-wi-fi/wi-fi-beacon-g6-2/

4

I have reported this multiple times. Nvidia seem determined to ignore it.

5

Hi All,

Apologize for the delayed response, I have filed a bug 5762513 internally for tracking purpose.

Team will try to duplicate issue in lab and will get back if required any additional information.