Yesterday my 16-inch MBP got a kernel panic while asleep. The fan spin loudly for 1 second and when I open the lid I found the system rebooted. The error report says “x86 CPU CATERR detected”. No other useful information was present in the report.

I did a quick search, and found that CATERR stands for Intel Catastrophic Error, something not related to software. It could be related to peripherals, but the MBP wasn’t connected to any external monitors or docks at the time, only my iPhone (and the power adapter).

This made me somehow worried. Could this be a hardware defect? Such error weren’t seen on any of my previous Windows computers. Should I take my Mac to Genius bar?

Is it the original power supply?
If your Mac is new or you expect they'll have a look for free, yes. Otherwise I'd just see if it happens again

casperes1996 said:

Is it the original power supply?
If your Mac is new or you expect they'll have a look for free, yes. Otherwise I'd just see if it happens again

Yes, it is the original power supply.
Thanks, I think I’ll wait and see.

I know this is an old thread, but I've been having this issue for a while now. It's been happening since I started using it with two external monitors, but it does it even when it's not connected to any external monitors.
It doesn't do it when running Windows on Boot Camp, and it doesn't give me any problems under load either.

You should check the logs. They may give more details about the underlying cause. It is a fault in the kernel which cannot be recovered, could be a bug in a driver.

I have a 2019 16" mbp and have been having this problem extensively. So much so that nothing has helped. I don't use anything not Apple related, no external monitors etc. Apple has now replaced my logic board, touchpad/bar 3 times now and I thought this last time was it, but yesterday woke up to it yet again having crashed.

panic(cpu 0 caller 0xfffffff02521f224): x86 CPU CATERR detected
Debugger message: panic
Memory ID: 0x6
OS release type: User
OS version: 19P744
macOS version: 21D62
Kernel version: Darwin Kernel Version 21.3.0: Wed Jan 5 20:03:37 PST 2022; root:xnu-8019.80.24~19/RELEASE_ARM64_T8010
Kernel UUID: 5C49B2CB-9833-3D8A-8E98-E628559A4D1E
iBoot version: iBoot-7429.81.3
secure boot?: YES
x86 EFI Boot State: 0x16
x86 System State: 0x0
x86 Power State: 0x0
x86 Shutdown Cause: 0x1
x86 Previous Power Transitions: 0x10001000100
PCIeUp link state: 0x89473614
Paniclog version: 13
Kernel slide: 0x000000001d180000
Kernel text base: 0xfffffff024184000
mach_absolute_time: 0x63086017ef0
Epoch Time: sec usec
Boot : 0x620bfa44 0x0001e0a1
Sleep : 0x622bacca 0x0001c1d7
Wake : 0x622bbad3 0x0003e73a
Calendar: 0x622be455 0x00054094

Zone info:
Foreign : 0xfffffff0941b0000 - 0xfffffff0941c0000
Native : 0xffffffe000168000 - 0xffffffe600168000
Readonly : 0xffffffe0e67cc000 - 0xffffffe133490000
Metadata : 0xffffffeb00878000 - 0xffffffeb04acc000
Bitmaps : 0xffffffeb02078000 - 0xffffffeb022e4000
CORE 0 is the one that panicked. Check the full backtrace for details.
CORE 1: PC=0xfffffff0249a9b84, LR=0xfffffff0249a9b84, FP=0xffffffeb04a33ef0
Panicked task 0xffffffe4ccce4628: 0 pages, 231 threads: pid 0: kernel_task
Panicked thread: 0xffffffe219a58000, backtrace: 0xffffffeb3029b670, tid: 381
lr: 0xfffffff0249776bc fp: 0xffffffeb3029b6b0
lr: 0xfffffff02497744c fp: 0xffffffeb3029b720
lr: 0xfffffff024ab3008 fp: 0xffffffeb3029b7a0
lr: 0xfffffff024ab21d0 fp: 0xffffffeb3029b850
lr: 0xfffffff024fdd5fc fp: 0xffffffeb3029b860
lr: 0xfffffff024977160 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bbf0
lr: 0xfffffff024977160 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bc50
lr: 0xfffffff025ad7488 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bc70
lr: 0xfffffff02521f224 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bca0
lr: 0xfffffff02520be2c fp: 0xffffffeb3029bd00
lr: 0xfffffff0252122e0 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bd50
lr: 0xfffffff02520dd18 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bdf0
lr: 0xfffffff02520b510 fp: 0xffffffeb3029be70
lr: 0xfffffff0250bd104 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bea0
lr: 0xfffffff024f25d58 fp: 0xffffffeb3029bee0
lr: 0xfffffff024f2557c fp: 0xffffffeb3029bf20
lr: 0xfffffff024fe85a0 fp: 0x0000000000000000

MarineBand5524 said:

Apple has now replaced my logic board, touchpad/bar 3 times now and I thought this last time was it, but yesterday woke up to it yet again having crashed.

@MarineBand5524 any updates on this issue? Having the same error on a different platform. Wondering if Apple has replaced any other components, or if you've been able to narrow down the cause any further?

dvdwsn said:

@MarineBand5524 any updates on this issue? Having the same error on a different platform. Wondering if Apple has replaced any other components, or if you've been able to narrow down the cause any further?

They replaced my logic board, touch, and touchpad 3 separate times, they never figured it out. Had to wait 2-2.5 months for a brand new system. Thank god for Apple Care+ If you have multiple issues in the same year, they will give you a new machine. And because the new ones just released, I got a free upgrade to the M1 =)

Oh nice. That's pretty sweet.

For my system my guess was mainboard or cpu, but both of those are covered by a logic board swap. Maybe the post earlier about it being power supply related is onto somthing.

dvdwsn said:

Oh nice. That's pretty sweet.

For my system my guess was mainboard or cpu, but both of those are covered by a logic board swap. Maybe the post earlier about it being power supply related is onto somthing.

It was so bad that I loathed turning on my machine. I can't tell you how many times I'd open the lid to see this issue. Every time I did what Apple said and every time, "take it into an Apple Store for Service."

By chance when you touch your laptop does it feel like it's vibrating? Mine did and also currently the new one does too. I have hardwood floors but wonder if it's somehow static electricity?

MarineBand5524 said:

By chance when you touch your laptop does it feel like it's vibrating? Mine did and also currently the new one does too. I have hardwood floors but wonder if it's somehow static electricity?

Weird. I wonder if you could borrow a multimeter from someone and check the metal casing? If the laptop is unplugged, does it still happen? If it does, have you tried touching it and then grounding yourself to see if it discharges?

For my situation it's not with a laptop. I was doing a google search for CPU CATERR and this thread came up.

dvdwsn said:

Weird. I wonder if you could borrow a multimeter from someone and check the metal casing? If the laptop is unplugged, does it still happen? If it does, have you tried touching it and then grounding yourself to see if it discharges?

For my situation it's not with a laptop. I was doing a google search for CPU CATERR and this thread came up.

I completely get that but I feel that's the culprit in all this that's somehow doing that to the CPU?

And yes when I touch other metal things it helps.

Other support threads have mentioned PSU as the cause of their CATERR. Also makes sense that stray voltage would wreak havoc on a system.

I am getting this error whenever I connect Mac Book Pro 15 early 2018 to Lenovo Thunderbolt 4 40" monitor, when laptop is sleeping. It will wake up, dump error and shutdown. Restarting and connecting goes fine.