ESXi host encountered PSOD with the error message "Platform firmware has reported a fatal error via APEI"

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

ESXi host encountered PSOD with the error message "Platform firmware has reported a fatal error via APEI" with the backtrace similar to the below.

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)Backtrace for current CPU #1, worldID=2344566, fp=0x0
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1bd70:[0x420006b7bb40]PanicvPanicInt@vmkernel#nover+0x20c stack: 0x0, 0x420006b7bb40, 0x0, 0x420000000001, 0x420006b7bb40
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1be20:[0x420006b7c2bc]Panic_NoSave@vmkernel#nover+0x4d stack: 0x252de0a1be80, 0x252de0a1be40, 0x430ed7a01220, 0x4525a83c4074, 0x0
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1be80:[0x4200077bfd95]ApeiPageRetireHandleNotification@vmkernel#nover+0x33a stack: 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1bf20:[0x420006ac6b02]AcpiEvNotifyDispatch@vmkernel#nover+0x3b stack: 0x0, 0x4200070c0e9e, 0x26ba0df511d4c4, 0x252de0a1f000, 0x4305ca601220
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1bf40:[0x4200070c0e9d]AcpiOsExecuteWrapper@vmkernel#nover+0x22 stack: 0x4305ca601220, 0x420006b5b6dd, 0x430ed7a01720, 0x0, 0x430ed7a01238
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1bf60:[0x420006b5b6dc]HelperQueueFunc@vmkernel#nover+0x19d stack: 0x430ed7a01238, 0x252de0a1f000, 0x453ce0d1f000, 0x252de0a1f100, 0x0
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1bfe0:[0x4200070d67b2]CpuSched_StartWorld@vmkernel#nover+0xbf stack: 0x0, 0x420006b44c70, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ cpu1:2344566)0x252de0a1c000:[0x420006b44c6f]Debug_IsInitialized@vmkernel#nover+0xc stack: 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0, 0x0
2025-03-09T15:12:05.957Z cpu1:2344566)ESC[45mESC[33;1mVMware ESXi 8.0.3 [Releasebuild-24022510 x86_64]ESC[0m
Platform firmware has reported a fatal error via APEI.

/var/run/log/vmkernel.log:

YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ In(182) vmkernel: cpu2:2097691)ApeiPageRetire: 730: Processing HEST GESB, severity 0x2, with 1 GEDE record(s)
YYYY-MM-DDThh:mm:ss.zzzZ In(182) vmkernel: cpu2:2097691)ApeiPageRetire: 654: Memory error 1: val=c37f err=40400 adr=e0b7ca3f00 msk=ffffffffffff nod=0 crd=4 mod=0 bnk=a dev=0 row=c06f col=e0 bit=0 req=0 rsp=0 tgt=0 typ=2 ext=0 rnk=0 cdh=0 mdh=0

 

Environment

VMware ESXi

Cause

APEI (ACPI Platform Error Interface) allows system firmware (BIOS/UEFI) to report hardware or platform errors to the operating system. When ESXi logs an APEI error, it generally indicates a hardware or firmware-related issue, typically involving memory, CPU, PCIe devices, or controllers. This is not an ESXi bug, but rather a notification of an underlying hardware/firmware condition.

Resolution

Consult the hardware vendor for further investigation.