GDB exited unexpectedly with exit code 253 (0xFD).

[sonic4]

Dear colleagues,  I am using the Nordic nrF9151-DK as part of exercise1, lesson 2 of the intermediate Devacademy course.  Lesson 2 is about trying and using the various vscode/nRF-Extension Pack debugger features.  

Build configuration is set as follows:

SDK:  Zephyr v4.1.99

Toolchain: nRF Connect SDK Toolchain v3.0.2

Board target:  nrf9151dk/nrf9151/ns

Optimization level:  Optimize for debugging (-Og)

After the build files are generated, it looks like this:

After selecting "debug", which should burn the build on the board and begin debugging it, I get the following error message: 

Just as a side note, this appears to be a problem with the debugger.  I have not had problems flashing code to this board. 

Here is my nrf-connect-support-20250610154243.jsonc file:

// IMPORTANT: The following data can contain sensitive or confidential information about your environment.
// If you do not want others to see this information, make sure to remove it before sharing the data.

// For help and support, visit Nordic Semiconductor's DevZone at https://devzone.nordicsemi.com/.

{
  "platform": {
    "os": "linux",
    "osVersion": "#63~22.04.1-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Tue Apr 22 19:00:15 UTC 2",
    "osKernel": "6.8.0-60-generic",
    "vscode": "1.100.3",
    "electron": "34.5.1",
    "node": "v20.19.0",
    "name": "Ubuntu",
    "id": "ubuntu",
    "version": "22.04.4 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish)",
    "versionId": "22.04"
  },
  "system": {
    "date": "2025-06-10T15:42:34.805Z",
    "vscodeRoot": "/usr/share/code/resources/app",
    "nrfConnectForDesktopInstalled": "unknown",
    "vscodeUptime": "00:13:09",
    "osUptime": "00:28:53",
    "cpu": "Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-1005G1 CPU @ 1.20GHz"
  },
  "workspace": {
    "name": "l2_e1",
    "workspaceFile": null,
    "folders": [
      "/home/user/zephyrproject/l2_e1"
    ]
  },
  "sdks": [
    {
      "version": "v4.1.99",
      "path": "/home/user/zephyrproject"
    }
  ],
  "activeBuild": "/home/user/zephyrproject/l2_e1/build",
  "apps": [
    {
      "workspace": "/home/user/zephyrproject/l2_e1",
      "uri": "/home/user/zephyrproject/l2_e1",
      "buildConfigurations": [
        {
          "id": "/home/user/zephyrproject/l2_e1/build",
          "name": "build",
          "boardId": "nrf9151dk/nrf9151/ns",
          "type": "Zephyr",
          "isChild": false,
          "isStale": false,
          "taskBindings": {
            "build": [],
            "pristineBuild": [],
            "flash": [],
            "eraseAndFlash": []
          },
          "sdk": "/home/user/zephyrproject",
          "toolchain": "nRF Connect SDK Toolchain v3.0.2"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "toolchains": [
    {
      "version": "3.0.2",
      "path": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4"
    },
    {
      "version": "0.17.0",
      "path": "/home/user/zephyr-sdk-0.17.0"
    }
  ],
  "connectedDevices": [
    {
      "serialNumber": "001051221768",
      "boardVersion": "PCA10171",
      "deviceFamily": "NRF91_FAMILY",
      "deviceVersion": "NRF9151_xxAA_REV3",
      "jlinkObFirmwareVersion": "J-Link OB-nRF5340-NordicSemi compiled Apr 11 2024 17:44:26",
      "protectionStatus": "NRFDL_PROTECTION_STATUS_NONE",
      "protectionStatusCore": "NRFDL_DEVICE_CORE_APPLICATION"
    }
  ],
  "tools": {
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/arm-zephyr-eabi-gcc": "0.17.0",
    "/opt/SEGGER/JLink/JLinkExe": "7.94e",
    "/usr/local/bin/nrfjprog": "10.24.2",
    "/home/user/nordic/nrfutil": "8.0.0",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin/cmake": "3.21.0",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin/west": "1.2.0",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin/python3": "3.12.4",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin/ninja": "1.10.2",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/bin/gperf": "3.1",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/bin/dtc": "1.5.0",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/bin/gn": "2132",
    "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin/git": "2.37.3",
    "arm-gdbPath": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin/arm-zephyr-eabi-gdb",
    "riscv-gdbPath": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/zephyr-sdk/riscv64-zephyr-elf/bin/riscv64-zephyr-elf-gdb"
  },
  "nrfutil": {
    "nrfutil-device": {
      "version": "2.8.8",
      "binPath": "/home/user/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.5.152-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/nrfutil-device",
      "jlinkInfo": {
        "description": "This version of SEGGER J-Link is different from the J-Link version that was used to test nrfutil device commands",
        "expectedVersion": {
          "version": "JLink_V8.18",
          "versionFormat": "string"
        },
        "name": "JlinkARM",
        "version": "JLink_V7.94e",
        "versionFormat": "string"
      }
    },
    "nrfutil-sdk-manager": {
      "version": "1.3.0",
      "binPath": "/home/user/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.5.152-linux-x64/platform/nrfutil/bin/nrfutil-sdk-manager"
    }
  },
  "environment": {
    "westEnv": {
      "GIT_EXEC_PATH": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/libexec/git-core",
      "HOME": "/home/user",
      "PATH": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/bin:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/bin:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/bin:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/bin:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/nanopb/generator-bin:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/zephyr-sdk/arm-zephyr-eabi/bin:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/zephyr-sdk/riscv64-zephyr-elf/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/home/user/zephyrproject/zephyr:/home/user/nordic:/opt/nrf-command-line-tools:/usr/bin:/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/usr/bin/git:/bin:/usr/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STM32CubeProgrammer/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STLink-gdb-server/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/CMake/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/Ninja/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STM32CubeProgrammer/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STLink-gdb-server/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/CMake/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/Ninja/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/home/user:/snap/bin:/snap/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/home/user/zephyrproject/zephyr:/home/user/nordic:/opt/nrf-command-line-tools:/usr/bin:/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/usr/bin/git:/bin:/usr/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STM32CubeProgrammer/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STLink-gdb-server/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/CMake/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/Ninja/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STM32CubeProgrammer/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STLink-gdb-server/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/CMake/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/Ninja/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/home/user:/snap/bin:/snap/bin",
      "ZEPHYR_BASE": "/home/user/zephyrproject/zephyr",
      "ZEPHYR_TOOLCHAIN_VARIANT": "zephyr",
      "ZEPHYR_SDK_INSTALL_DIR": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/opt/zephyr-sdk",
      "PYTHONPATH": "/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/lib/python3.12:/home/user/ncs/toolchains/7cbc0036f4/usr/local/lib/python3.12/site-packages",
      "USER": "user"
    },
    "inherited": {
      "ELECTRON_RUN_AS_NODE": "1",
      "HOME": "/home/user",
      "PATH": "/home/user/.local/bin:/home/user/zephyrproject/zephyr:/home/user/nordic:/opt/nrf-command-line-tools:/usr/bin:/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/usr/bin/git:/bin:/usr/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STM32CubeProgrammer/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STLink-gdb-server/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/CMake/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/Ninja/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:/home/user/.local/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STM32CubeProgrammer/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/STLink-gdb-server/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/CMake/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/Ninja/bin:/opt/st/stm32cubeclt_1.18.0/GNU-tools-for-STM32/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/home/user:/snap/bin:/snap/bin",
      "USER": "user"
    }
  },
  "terminal": {
    "defaultProfile": null
  },
  "config": {
    "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect": {
      "topdir": "",
      "toolchain": {
        "path": ""
      },
      "ozonePath": "",
      "applications": [],
      "applicationOptions": {},
      "kconfig": {
        "interface": "kconfig"
      },
      "west": {
        "env": {
          "$base": "terminal"
        }
      },
      "boardRoots": [],
      "taskBindings": {},
      "buildTerminal": {
        "condensedProgress": true
      },
      "debugging": {
        "flash": true,
        "bindings": {},
        "justMyCode": false
      },
      "activeAppFollowActiveEditor": true,
      "flash": {
        "softreset": false,
        "erase": false,
        "recover": false
      },
      "enableTelemetry": false,
      "thirdpartyIntegration": {},
      "toolchainManager": {
        "indexURL": null,
        "installDirectory": null
      },
      "nrfutil": {
        "home": null
      },
      "defaultOpenAction": "ask",
      "terminalProfile": {
        "shell": null
      }
    },
    "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal": {
      "terminalMode": "character"
    }
  },
  "extensions": {
    "internal": {
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect": {
        "version": "2025.5.152",
        "path": "/home/user/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-connect-2025.5.152-linux-x64",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal": {
        "version": "2024.9.14",
        "path": "/home/user/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-terminal-2024.9.14",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-devicetree": {
        "version": "2025.4.22",
        "path": "/home/user/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-devicetree-2025.4.22",
        "isActive": true
      },
      "nordic-semiconductor.nrf-kconfig": {
        "version": "2025.4.26",
        "path": "/home/user/.vscode/extensions/nordic-semiconductor.nrf-kconfig-2025.4.26",
        "isActive": true
      }
    },
    "external": {
      "marus25.cortex-debug": null,
      "ms-vscode.cpptools": "1.25.3",
      "ms-vscode.js-debug": "1.100.1",
      "ms-vscode.js-debug-companion": "1.1.3",
      "ms-vscode.vscode-js-profile-table": "1.0.10",
      "ms-vscode.cmake-tools": "1.20.53",
      "ms-vscode.cpptools-extension-pack": "1.3.1",
      "ms-vscode.cpptools-themes": "2.0.0",
      "trond-snekvik.gnu-mapfiles": "1.1.0"
    }
  }
}

I would appreciate any help you could provide on this.

Thank you,

sonic4

[sonic4]

Dear Colleagues,

Strangely, I got a sort-of workaround going today.  I upversioned to JLink V810i (nrf-connect wanted V794i).  Then, after building with "Optimize for debugging (-Og) enabled in the configuration, I edited bootutil_misc.c to correct line 153.  A problem with this file is shown in the "problems" window:   implicit declaration of function 'flash area_get_sector'; did you mean 'flash_area_get_sectors'?[-Wimplicit-function-declaration] gcc [Ln 153, Col 15]

I simply edited the file inline and hit "debug", the trusted firmware version flashed and now I am proceeding with the lesson. I did not rebuild.

I believe this will be a consistent problem with each future "debugging enabled" build, since bootutil_misc.c appears to be generated as part of the build.

At least I can proceed with this lesson, though and seem to have identified a temporary workaround. It will be interesting to see what happens the next time I have to use the debugger-- or the next time I start VS.

Thanks,  sonic4

[sonic4]

...as expected, the "workaround" I described above only worked to get me through assignment 1 in lesson 2 of the Nordic Devacademy intermediate course.  Opening a new ticket for the "issue" that is occuring with assignment 2 in lesson 2.  This making me hanker for an IDE that is less-ambitious in its functionality, but way-more reliable and transparent. Most of the time I'm doing on this course is figuring out workarounds with VSCode.  Trying to build lesson 2 of assigment 2 of the Nordic Devacademy intermediate class with an nRF9151-Dk.  On to the next ticket...

sonic4