gravitational/teleport · error

xsession was terminated

Error message

xsession was terminated

What it means

In lib/srv/desktop/linux_server.go the desktop session supervises an xsession (Xorg/Xvfb process). When the xsession's error channel yields a nil error while the session goroutine ends, the watcher returns 'xsession was terminated', meaning the X server process exited without reporting a specific error.

Source

Thrown at lib/srv/desktop/linux_server.go:815

		AuthorityFile:  sess.backend.AuthorityFile,
	})
	if err != nil {
		return trace.Wrap(err, "Couldn't start Xsession")
	}
	sess.cmd = cmd
	sess.errGroup.Go(func() error {
		errCh := make(chan error, 1)
		go func() {
			errCh <- cmd.Wait()
		}()
		select {
		case <-sess.ctx.Done():
			return nil
		case err := <-errCh:
			if err != nil {
				return trace.Wrap(err, "xsession was terminated with error")
			}
			return trace.Wrap(errors.New("xsession was terminated"))
		}
	})
	return nil
}

func (sess *linuxSession) handleClientScreenSpec(m *tdpb.ClientScreenSpec) error {
	if m.Width > types.MaxRDPScreenWidth || m.Height > types.MaxRDPScreenHeight {
		return trace.BadParameter("invalid screen size %dx%d, maximum is %dx%d", m.Width, m.Height, types.MaxRDPScreenWidth, types.MaxRDPScreenHeight)
	}
	sess.resizeMu.Lock()
	defer sess.resizeMu.Unlock()
	width := uint16(m.Width)
	height := uint16(m.Height)
	sess.screenSize.Width = width
	sess.screenSize.Height = height
	sess.sendFullScreen = true
	if err := sess.backend.Resize(width, height); err != nil {
		return trace.Wrap(err, "Couldn't resize backend")

View on GitHub (pinned to 1283425b60)

Solutions

1. Check systemd/journal logs for the Xorg/Xvfb process crash reason
2. Verify display server binaries and GPU/dummy drivers are installed and compatible
3. Check dmesg for OOM kills and add memory or limit concurrent desktop sessions
4. Have the user reconnect — a new session typically starts a fresh xsession

// verify the X server binary exists and host has memory before starting a session
if _, err := exec.LookPath("Xorg"); err != nil {
  return fmt.Errorf("display server missing: %w", err)
}
if avail := memAvailable(); avail < minDesktopSessionMem {
  return fmt.Errorf("insufficient memory for desktop session")
}

err := attachDesktopSession(ctx, sessionID)
if isXsessionTerminated(err) {
  log.Printf("xsession died without error; check journalctl for Xorg crash")
  return retrySession(ctx, sessionID)
}

When it happens

Trigger: The X server process backing the desktop session exits (crash, SIGKILL, OOM kill, or clean exit) and its error channel closes with no error; the select in the session waiter converts that into this wrapped trace error.

Common situations: Linux desktop access sessions where Xorg crashes due to a bad driver/mode, the host is under memory pressure (OOM killer terminates Xvfb/Xorg), or the session is forcibly terminated by an admin.

Related errors

• failed to create decoder
• unable to serve request due to an app configuration error. C
• unable to serve the request due to an internal error. Contac
• tokens quota exceeded. Contact your Teleport administrator
• the inference provider returned an unexpected error. Contact

AI-assisted analysis of gravitational/teleport@1283425b60 (2026-09-02). Data as JSON: /api/errors/b13961a251c4a80c. Report an issue: GitHub.