[iOS 26] App crashes on startup with TurboModule performVoidMethodInvocation - SIGABRT

Description

Description

React Native app crashes immediately on startup on iOS 26.1, but works perfectly on iOS 18.x. The crash occurs in ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation with a SIGABRT signal.

This appears to be related to the known issue discussed in reactwg/react-native-new-architecture#276, where performVoidMethodInvocation doesn't properly handle NSExceptions thrown by TurboModules.

Expected behavior

App should launch normally, as it does on iOS 18.x.

Actual behavior

App crashes with SIGABRT before reaching JavaScript execution.

Environment

• React Native: 0.81.5
• Expo SDK: 54.0.27
• New Architecture: Enabled (required by react-native-reanimated 4.x)
• iOS versions tested:
• iOS 26.1 (iPhone 17 Pro): ❌ CRASH
• iOS 18.6 (Simulator iPhone 16 Pro): ✅ WORKS
• Xcode: 17C48

Crash Log

Incident Identifier: F20BB16E-E4D2-4192-8527-AE827EF146D2
Hardware Model: iPhone18,1
Process: Krimp [6640]
Version: 1.1.3 (9)
OS Version: iPhone OS 26.1 (23B85)
Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000
Termination Reason: SIGNAL 6 Abort trap: 6
Triggered by Thread: 7
Thread 7 Crashed:
0 libsystem_kernel.dylib pthread_kill + 8
1 libsystem_pthread.dylib pthread_kill + 268 (pthread.c:1721)
2 libsystem_c.dylib abort + 124 (abort.c:122)
3 libc++abi.dylib abort_message + 132 (abort_message.cpp:66)
4 libc++abi.dylib demangling_terminate_handler() + 280 (cxa_default_handlers.cpp:71)
5 libobjc.A.dylib objc_terminate() + 172 (objc-exception.mm:499)
6 libc++abi.dylib std::terminate(void ()()) + 16 (cxa_handlers.cpp:59)
7 libc++abi.dylib cxa_rethrow + 188 (cxa_exception.cpp:658)
8 libobjc.A.dylib objc_exception_rethrow + 44 (objc-exception.mm:399)
9 React invocation function for block in facebook::react::ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation(...) + 192
10 React std::1::_function::func<facebook::react::ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation(...)::$1, ...> + 88
11 libdispatch.dylib dispatch_call_block_and_release + 32 (init.c:1575)
12 libdispatch.dylib dispatch_client_callout + 16 (client_callout.mm:85)
13 libdispatch.dylib dispatch_lane_serial_drain + 740 (queue.c:3991)
14 libdispatch.dylib dispatch_lane_invoke + 388 (queue.c:4082)
15 libdispatch.dylib dispatch_root_queue_drain_deferred_wlh + 292 (queue.c:7265)
16 libdispatch.dylib dispatch_workloop_worker_thread + 692 (queue.c:6859)
17 libsystem_pthread.dylib pthread_wqthread + 292 (pthread.c:2696)
18 libsystem_pthread.dylib start_wqthread + 8

Analysis

The crash signature is identical to the one described in #276:

• Crash in performVoidMethodInvocation
• objc_exception_rethrow → __cxa_rethrow → abort

The fix in PR #50193 addressed performMethodInvocation, but the same issue exists in performVoidMethodInvocation for async void methods.

Key observation: The crash ONLY occurs on iOS 26.x. The same build works perfectly on iOS 18.x, suggesting iOS 26 introduces changes that cause native modules to throw NSExceptions during initialization that weren't thrown before.

Potential Root Cause

In `RCTTurboModule.mm`, when an async void TurboModule method throws an NSException, the code attempts to convert it to a JSError and rethrow it:
c
@try {
  [inv invokeWithTarget:strongModule];
} @catch (NSException *exception) {
  throw convertNSExceptionToJSError(runtime, exception);
}

For void async methods dispatched on a background queue, nothing can catch this rethrown exception, causing the app to terminate.

Workaround Attempted

• Updating packages to latest patch versions: Did not fix
• Removing unused native modules: Did not fix

Additional Context

• First crash log showed SecureStoreModule.searchKeyChain in the stack, but removing expo-secure-store did not fix the issue
• The crash happens very early (~200ms after launch), during TurboModule initialization
• Multiple crash logs available showing the same pattern

Related Issues

• reactwg/react-native-new-architecture#276
• #50193 - Previous fix for performMethodInvocation

⚠️ IMPORTANT: This is a Release-build only bug. Debug builds work fine.

Steps to reproduce

⚠️ This is a RELEASE-BUILD ONLY bug. Debug builds work fine on iOS 26.1.

To reproduce the crash:

1. Clone https://github.com/JoffreyTrebot/rn-ios26-turbomodule-crash
2. Run npm install
3. Build a Release version:
   • Using EAS: eas build --platform ios --profile production
   • Or using Xcode: Archive with Release configuration
4. Install the Release build on an iOS 26.1 device (via TestFlight or direct install)
5. Launch the app
6. Result: App crashes immediately (~200ms after launch) with SIGABRT in performVoidMethodInvocation

What works (for comparison):

• Debug build (npx expo run:ios) on iOS 26.1 → ✅ Works
• Debug build (npx expo run:ios) on iOS 18.6 → ✅ Works
• Release build on iOS 18.x → ✅ Works
• Release build on iOS 26.1 → ❌ CRASH

Key observation:

The crash ONLY occurs when:

1. Build type = Release (TestFlight/Production)
2. iOS version = 26.x

This suggests the issue is related to Release-mode compiler optimizations interacting with iOS 26's changes to native module/exception handling.

React Native Version

0.81.5

Affected Platforms

Runtime - iOS

Areas

TurboModule - The New Native Module System

Output of npx @react-native-community/cli info

System:
  OS: macOS 26.1
  CPU: (8) x64 Apple M1 Pro
  Memory: 44.41 MB / 32.00 GB
  Shell:
    version: 3.2.57
    path: /bin/bash
Binaries:
  Node:
    version: 20.19.5
    path: /usr/local/bin/node
  Yarn:
    version: 1.22.18
    path: /usr/local/bin/yarn
  npm:
    version: 11.6.4
    path: /usr/local/bin/npm
  Watchman: Not Found
Managers:
  CocoaPods:
    version: 1.16.2
    path: /usr/local/bin/pod
SDKs:
  iOS SDK:
    Platforms:
      - DriverKit 25.1
      - iOS 26.1
      - macOS 26.1
      - tvOS 26.1
      - visionOS 26.1
      - watchOS 26.1
  Android SDK:
    API Levels:
      - "28"
      - "29"
      - "30"
      - "31"
      - "32"
      - "33"
      - "34"
    Build Tools:
      - 28.0.3
      - 29.0.2
      - 30.0.2
      - 34.0.0
    System Images:
      - android-29 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-30 | Google APIs Intel x86 Atom
      - android-30 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-31 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-33 | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
      - android-35 | Google APIs ARM 64 v8a
      - android-VanillaIceCream | Google Play ARM 64 v8a
    Android NDK: Not Found
IDEs:
  Android Studio: Not Found
  Xcode:
    version: 26.1.1/17B100
    path: /usr/bin/xcodebuild
Languages:
  Java:
    version: 17.0.13
    path: /usr/bin/javac
  Ruby:
    version: 2.6.10
    path: /usr/bin/ruby
npmPackages:
  "@react-native-community/cli": Not Found
  react:
    installed: 19.1.0
    wanted: 19.1.0
  react-native:
    installed: 0.81.5
    wanted: 0.81.5
  react-native-macos: Not Found
npmGlobalPackages:
  "*react-native*": Not Found
Android:
  hermesEnabled: Not found
  newArchEnabled: Not found
iOS:
  hermesEnabled: Not found
  newArchEnabled: Not found

info React Native v0.83.0 is now available (your project is running on v0.81.5).
info Changelog: https://github.com/facebook/react-native/releases/tag/v0.83.0
info Diff: https://react-native-community.github.io/upgrade-helper/?from=0.81.5&to=0.83.0
info For more info, check out "https://reactnative.dev/docs/upgrading?os=macos".

Stacktrace or Logs

Exception Type: EXC_CRASH (SIGABRT)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000000, 0x0000000000000000
Termination Reason: SIGNAL 6 Abort trap: 6
Triggered by Thread: 7

Thread 7 Crashed:
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib        __pthread_kill + 8
1   libsystem_pthread.dylib       pthread_kill + 268 (pthread.c:1721)
2   libsystem_c.dylib             abort + 124 (abort.c:122)
3   libc++abi.dylib               __abort_message + 132 (abort_message.cpp:66)
4   libc++abi.dylib               demangling_terminate_handler() + 280 (cxa_default_handlers.cpp:71)
5   libobjc.A.dylib               _objc_terminate() + 172 (objc-exception.mm:499)
6   libc++abi.dylib               std::__terminate(void (*)()) + 16 (cxa_handlers.cpp:59)
7   libc++abi.dylib               __cxa_rethrow + 188 (cxa_exception.cpp:658)
8   libobjc.A.dylib               objc_exception_rethrow + 44 (objc-exception.mm:399)
9   React                         invocation function for block in facebook::react::ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation(facebook::jsi::Runtime&, char const*, NSInvocation*, NSMutableArray*) + 192
10  React                         std::__1::__function::__func<facebook::react::ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation(...)::$_1, ...> + 88
11  libdispatch.dylib             _dispatch_call_block_and_release + 32
12  libdispatch.dylib             _dispatch_client_callout + 16
13  libdispatch.dylib             _dispatch_lane_serial_drain + 740
14  libdispatch.dylib             _dispatch_lane_invoke + 388
15  libdispatch.dylib             _dispatch_root_queue_drain_deferred_wlh + 292
16  libdispatch.dylib             _dispatch_workloop_worker_thread + 692
17  libsystem_pthread.dylib       _pthread_wqthread + 292
18  libsystem_pthread.dylib       start_wqthread + 8

Key facts:
- Crash happens ONLY on iOS 26.1
- Same build works perfectly on iOS 18.6
- Crash occurs ~200ms after app launch during TurboModule initialization
- Related to issue discussed in reactwg/react-native-new-architecture#276

MANDATORY Reproducer

https://github.com/JoffreyTrebot/rn-ios26-turbomodule-crash

Screenshots and Videos

No response

Bắt đầu bằng cách đọc RCTTurboModule.mm quanh ObjCTurboModule::performVoidMethodInvocation và so sánh cách xử lý ngoại lệ của nó với bản sửa lỗi cho performMethodInvocation trong PR #50193. Build và chạy reproducer bắt buộc dưới dạng bản build Release trên iOS 26.1; hoàn thành có nghĩa là ứng dụng không còn abort trong quá trình khởi tạo TurboModule, đồng thời hành vi hiện có vẫn được giữ nguyên.