NativeClient: PnaclCoordinator: Compile stream init failed: reply not received from PNaCl translator (it probably crashed)

[Stefano Sabatini]

Hi guys,

working on a PNaCl module and getting this error on the Chrome console:
NativeClient: PnaclCoordinator: Compile stream init failed: reply not received from PNaCl translator (it probably crashed)

This looks like chrome is failing to load the .pexe file. I couldn't find anything relevant on the Internet about this problem, so I wonder if you can provide suggestions about this (also - I'm not yet able to show debug logs on the chrome stderr/stdout, which is not surely helping).

Note that I'm experiencing this error mostly on Windows.

Thanks in advance for any suggestion.

[Derek Schuff]

Here are a bunch of general debugging questions to get you started.

Does it happen every time? Just for this pexe or for any pexe? Just on one machine, or any Windows machine? What optimization level are you using in your manifest file? (If default, try O0?)? What happens if you clear your browser cache or try a fresh profile?

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[Stefano Sabatini]

On Tuesday, August 2, 2016 at 7:21:40 PM UTC+2, Derek Schuff wrote:

Here are a bunch of general debugging questions to get you started.

 

Does it happen every time?

Every time using the same version of the browser on the same machine (Windows Vista, Chrome 52.0.2743.82 64-bit).
Also tried on several other Windows machines having the same result.

Just for this pexe or for any pexe?

It does'nt look depending on the pexe, this indeed happens also with the gonative demos:
https://gonativeclient.appspot.com/demo

Just on one machine, or any Windows machine?

This only happened with Windows machines, but not on all the Windows machine I tried.
 

What optimization level are you using in your manifest file? (If default, try O0?)?

Skip for the moment (testing with the pnacl demos). Will test and report.
 

What happens if you clear your browser cache or try a fresh profile?

Same error.

[...]

I guess this may be related to a configuration issue on the Windows machines I tried (most of them are from a corporate network), but it would be useful to know more about the problem so I can guess where to start fixing it.

Thanks.

[Derek Schuff]

On Wed, Aug 3, 2016 at 2:32 AM Stefano Sabatini <stef...@gmail.com> wrote:

I guess this may be related to a configuration issue on the Windows machines I tried (most of them are from a corporate network), but it would be useful to know more about the problem so I can guess where to start fixing it.

Ah, I forgot to have you check that the PNaCl translator is actually present. If you navigate to chrome://nacl/ it should report that PNaCl is "Enabled", and it should report PNaCl translator path to a location inside the active profile (ending with something like pnacl/0.52.39.4554/_platform_specific/x86_64). It should also report a version (a git hash).

If the translator isn't there, it may be that the component updater (part of chrome that downloads and updates components independently of the base install such as Flash, PNaCl, CRLs, etc) is disabled or blocked somehow. if you look at chrome://components/ you can see which components are there and try updating them manually. If you want to keep it disabled but you want PNaCl to work you can actually just copy the contents of the translator directory from one profile to another (assuming the same architecture) and it should work.

 

[Stefano Sabatini]

This is what I get in chrome://nacl:

------------8<--------------------------------------------------8<----------
About NaCl

Google Chrome 52.0.2743.82 (m)
Sistema operativo Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 SP1 64 bit

NaCl plugin C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\52.0.2743.82\internal-nacl-plugin

Portable Native Client (PNaCl) Enabled
PNaCl translator path C:\Users\sabatini\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\pnacl\0.52.39.4554\_platform_specific\x86_64
PNaCl translator version dfb29536c5d4e8e8c26074b7bf9f982798bb97de

Native Client (non-portable, outside web store) Enabled by flag '--enable-nacl'

------------8<--------------------------------------------------8<----------
 
I tried to launch chrome with --enable-nacl  and it didn't change the behavior.

One weird thing I discovered in chrome://components is that I'm not able to update manually nacl (nor other components). In case of nacl I see the message flash in a moment from "Launching update program" to "Component not updated" (my translation since the messages are localized).

I'll update the post in case I discover more, thank you again.

[Derek Schuff]

That looks like the correct current version, and "Component not updated" is also what mine says when the component is already up to date. It might be worth checking that the files are not corrupted (comparing them with or copying them from a working install). You could also try to see if (non-portable) NaCl files work e.g. by trying out a Chrome app that uses them, such as https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo . If something is breaking the NaCl loader (e.g. antivirus programs sometimes do) then no nexe file will load, and this includes apps which use native nexes, as well as the PNaCl translator.

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[Stefano Sabatini]

On Monday, August 8, 2016 at 7:53:58 PM UTC+2, Derek Schuff wrote:

That looks like the correct current version, and "Component not updated" is also what mine says when the component is already up to date. It might be worth checking that the files are not corrupted (comparing them with or copying them from a working install). You could also try to see if (non-portable) NaCl files work e.g. by trying out a Chrome app that uses them, such as https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/secure-shell/pnhechapfaindjhompbnflcldabbghjo . If something is breaking the NaCl loader (e.g. antivirus programs sometimes do) then no nexe file will load, and this includes apps which use native nexes, as well as the PNaCl translator.

There are a few files related to the nacl installation, in the chrome install dir:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Chrome\Application\VERSION
nacl_irt_x86_32.nexe
nacl_irt_x86_64.nexe
nacl64.exe

and in the user directory:
C:\Users\USER\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\pnacl\0.52.39.4554

I replaced both from a working install and it's still not working.

Tried the secure shell application and got "NativeClient: Nexe crashed during startup".

Thus I suspect the problem may be related to third-party components (e.g. the corporate antivirus).

Thanks for your (very appreciated and competent) feedback.

[Stefano Sabatini]

On Monday, August 22, 2016 at 11:52:03 AM UTC+2, Stefano Sabatini wrote:

[...]

Thus I suspect the problem may be related to third-party components (e.g. the corporate antivirus).

Followup: I finally discovered the cause of the problem, which was the EMET tool:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2458544

installed on the corporate machines. Indeed disabling EMET settings on chrome.exe made it work.

Thanks.

[Derek Schuff]

Thanks for the followup. Just to help me understand, do you mind answering:

1. This is 64-bit Windows, correct?

2. Is chrome itself 64-bit or 32-bit?

3. Was it chrome.exe or nacl64.exe (or both? or some other executable?) that needed the exception?

Thanks!

--

[Derek Schuff]

Oh, you actually answered #2 upthread, which also answers #1. So just #3.

[Stefano Sabatini]

In data Wednesday 2016-08-24 17:15:51 +0000, 'Derek Schuff' via Native-Client-Discuss ha scritto:
> Thanks for the followup. Just to help me understand, do you mind answering:

> 1. This is 64-bit Windows, correct?

yes

> 2. Is chrome itself 64-bit or 32-bit?

64 bit

> 3. Was it chrome.exe or nacl64.exe (or both? or some other executable?)
> that needed the exception?

The EMET settings were on chrome.exe, I cannot see nacl64.exe in the
EMET GUI apps list.

> Thanks!

[...]

Best regards.

[Stefano Sabatini]

Some more details: only the DEP and SEHOP settings disable chrome pnacl.