Kernel Panic – NFC context is bigger than expected (NCS v3.2.2 / Zephyr v4.2.99)

Hello,

My application crashes with a Kernel Panic (ZEPHYR FATAL ERROR 4) during NFC communication :

ASSERTION FAIL [header.ctx_size <= 16] @ WEST_TOPDIR/nrf/subsys/nfc/lib/platform_internal_thread.c:122 NFC context is bigger than expected. E: >>> ZEPHYR FATAL ERROR 4: Kernel panic on CPU 0 E: Current thread: 0x20002888 (sysworkq)

What I have investigated so far:

  • The assertion at line 122 of platform_internal_thread.c checks that header.ctx_size <= 16, meaning the NFC context structure is expected to fit within 16 bytes. In my build, it appears to exceed this limit.
  • The fault occurs on the system workqueue thread (sysworkq), suggesting it is triggered during NFC library processing.

Questions:

  1. Is this a known issue in NCS v3.2.2 with the NFC library?
  2. Has the NFC context structure size changed in recent NCS versions, causing this assertion to fail?
  3. Is there a recommended workaround — for example, specific Kconfig options to reduce the NFC context size, or a patch available?
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