this panic is not storage/SoftRAID related. It’s a kernel zone-map exhaustion panic, specifically a leak in the pv_listzone.

What it means 

• zalloc: zone map exhausted ... zone

• The kernel ran out of space in its “zone allocator” because something kept allocating pv_list entries and not freeing them.

• The log even says “likely due to memory leak in zone ” and shows it ballooned to ~13 GB.

pv_list is used by the VM subsystem to track physical-to-virtual mappings / page metadata. When it leaks, the kernel can’t allocate memory structures it needs and it panics.

Why “triggered by PostgreSQL 18” fits

Databases can drive:

• huge mmap activity

• lots of page faults

• rapid allocate/free of virtual memory regions

• heavy I/O + memory pressure

If there’s a kernel or driver bug in the VM/memory-mapping path, a DB workload can be the “trigger” even though the bug is elsewhere.

What’s most likely causing it

Almost always one of these:

1. macOS kernel bug (Darwin 25.2.0 / build 25C56) in the VM subsystem that your workload hits.

2. A third-party kernel extension (kext) / networking filter / filesystem client interacting with VM or I/O paths.

   • You have SoftRAID 8.6 loaded, but nothing in this panic implicates it.

   • More suspicious are things like network filters (@nke.asp_tcp, @nke.applicationfirewall) or uncommon filesystem clients (AFP/SMB/NFS) depending on what the DB is doing.

3. Virtualization / hypervisor / driver interaction (less obvious here, but MacPro7,1 often runs VMs and heavy GPU drivers).

Why I’m confident it’s not SoftRAID

• The panic is in zalloc.c with a zone leak signature.

• No I/O timeout / VFS shutdown / NVMe busy timeout patterns.

• Backtrace doesn’t show SoftRAID symbols; it’s generic kernel VM allocation.

Actionable troubleshooting:

Without more context, best steps are:

1. Update macOS
   These zone-leak panics are often fixed in point releases.

2. Boot once with all third-party kexts removed/disabled
   On Intel macOS, kexts still matter. If the panic stops, you’ve narrowed it.

   • Temporarily uninstall/disable non-essential kexts (AV, VPN, network filters, storage utilities not required for boot).

3. If PostgreSQL 18 runs on network storage or uses SMB/NFS mounts, test locally

   • You have SMB/NFS/AFP modules loaded; DB + network FS is a common “stress mix.”

4. Capture: sysdiagnose + reproducibility notes (For reporting to Apple)

   • If reproducible, Apple will want a sysdiagnose taken close to failure.

5. Look for “vm” / “zone” warnings prior to the panic

   • In Unified Logs, search for zone map, pv_list, zalloc, vm_map, pmap.

• 25B78 (Darwin 25.1.0 / xnu-12377.41.6~2)

• 25C56 (Darwin 25.2.0 / xnu-12377.61.12~1)

Summary

I am seeing repeated macOS kernel panics with the signature:

zalloc: zone map exhausted while allocating from zone , likely due to memory leak in zone

These panics occur while running PostgreSQL 18 performing heavy database creation / write-intensive workload on a SoftRAID-managed external drive array (OWC ThunderBay 8 enclosure with 8 8TB SSDs in RAID 4). The same panic has occurred multiple times over the last 24 hours and also after updating macOS from 25B78 → 25C56.

Crash / panic signature (key lines; see below for full macOS Problem Report)

• Panic reason (both incidents):
  zone map exhausted … zone … likely due to memory leak … ~13–14 GB allocated

• Panicked task: kernel_task (pid 0)

Incident #1 (excerpt):

• macOS build: 25B78

• SoftRAID loaded: >SoftRAID 8.6

• pv_list leak: ~15.2 GB

• Uptime at panic: ~2.1 hours

Incident #2 (excerpt):

• macOS build: 25C56

• SoftRAID loaded: >SoftRAID 8.6

• pv_list leak: ~14.9 GB

• Uptime at panic: ~5 days

Workload details / trigger conditions

• Running PostgreSQL 18 against a large database located on an external HD/SSD array managed by SoftRAID.

• The workload includes creating a large DB and sustained I/O (writes + WAL + checkpoints; may include index creation depending on timing).

• The panics have occurred while this workload was active; they have not been observed during light I/O.

Environment / additional kernel components

• Third-party kexts seen in panic logs:

  • >SoftRAID 8.6

  • com.intel.driver.EnergyDriver 3.7.0 (present in the second log)

• (If relevant) Synology ABB kext was present in an earlier panic I had, but in the latest panic it is not loaded.

Steps to reproduce (best approximation)

1. Boot macOS.

2. Mount and use the SoftRAID-managed external array as the PostgreSQL data directory.

3. Run sustained write-heavy DB creation / ingest on Postgres 18 (large dataset, high concurrency).

4. After some period of heavy I/O, system kernel panics with pv_list zone exhaustion.

What I have tried / observations

• Updating macOS to a newer build did not eliminate the issue (25B78 → 25C56).

• The panic is highly consistent across incidents (same zone leak and message).

Request

1. Is SoftRAID aware of any issue on macOS 25.x / Darwin 25.x involving pv_list leaks or zone-map exhaustion under sustained I/O?

2. Are there recommended mitigations (SoftRAID settings, driver updates, known-incompatible enclosures/bridge chips, queue-depth controls, etc.)?

3. Please advise what additional diagnostics would be most useful to you (e.g., specific logging, reproduction details, or hardware/enclosure metadata).

Full macOS Problem Report

panic(cpu 2 caller 0xffffff801cbcd48a): zalloc: zone map exhausted while allocating from zone , likely due to memory leak in zone (13G, 308450890 elements allocated) @zalloc.c:4534
Panicked task 0xffffffaaaa47b9a8: 587 threads: pid 0: kernel_task
Backtrace (CPU 2), panicked thread: 0xffffffa5dd76c598, Frame : Return Address
0xffffffe5de1fb880 : 0xffffff801cb57161
0xffffffe5de1fb8d0 : 0xffffff801ccd4396
0xffffffe5de1fb910 : 0xffffff801ccc359c
0xffffffe5de1fb9d0 : 0xffffff801caeb971
0xffffffe5de1fb9f0 : 0xffffff801cb57537
0xffffffe5de1fbaf0 : 0xffffff801cb56ba9
0xffffffe5de1fbc60 : 0xffffff801d38c07d
0xffffffe5de1fbd50 : 0xffffff801cbcd48a
0xffffffe5de1fbef0 : 0xffffff801cbd0c5d
0xffffffe5de1fbf60 : 0xffffff801cca59a5
0xffffffe5de1fbfa0 : 0xffffff801caeb19e

Process name corresponding to current thread (0xffffffa5dd76c598): kernel_task

Mac OS version:
25C56

Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 25.2.0: Tue Nov 18 21:09:34 PST 2025; root:xnu-12377.61.12~1/RELEASE_X86_64
Kernel UUID: 0FE6505A-553D-31F6-970A-A1FC7D110BC4
roots installed: 0
KernelCache slide: 0x000000001c800000
KernelCache base: 0xffffff801ca00000
Kernel slide: 0x000000001c8e8000
Kernel text base: 0xffffff801cae8000
__HIB text base: 0xffffff801c900000
System model name: MacPro7,1 (Mac-27AD2F918AE68F61)
System shutdown begun: NO
Hibernation exit count: 0

System uptime in nanoseconds: 428955866160422
Last Sleep: absolute base_tsc base_nano
Uptime : 0x000186221206e1c8
Sleep : 0x0000000000000000 0x0000000000000000 0x0000000000000000
Wake : 0x0000000000000000 0x000000d5b0bece06 0x0000000000000000
Compressor Info: 0% of compressed pages limit (OK) and 0% of segments limit (OK) with 1 swapfiles and OK swap space
Zone info:
Zone map: 0xffffff95dd782000 - 0xffffffb5dd782000
. VM : 0xffffff95dd782000 - 0xffffff9aaa44e000
. RO : 0xffffff9aaa44e000 - 0xffffff9c43df2000
. GEN0 : 0xffffff9c43df2000 - 0xffffffa110abe000
. GEN1 : 0xffffffa110abe000 - 0xffffffa5dd78a000
. GEN2 : 0xffffffa5dd78a000 - 0xffffffaaaa456000
. GEN3 : 0xffffffaaaa456000 - 0xffffffaf77122000
. DATA : 0xffffffaf77122000 - 0xffffffb5dd782000
Metadata: 0xffffff89673ee000 - 0xffffff89873ee000
Bitmaps : 0xffffff89873ee000 - 0xffffff89973ee000
Extra : 0 - 0

Zone (suspected) leak report:
Zone: pv_list
Count: 131072 (6291456 bytes)
Size: 14863704064
Top backtrace:
0xffffff801cca59a5

last started kext at 17597392226298: @filesystems.afpfs 11.5 (addr 0xffffff7fb1f3a000, size 286720)
loaded kexts:
com.intel.driver.EnergyDriver 3.7.0
@filesystems.afpfs 11.5
@nke.asp_tcp 9.2
@filesystems.smbfs 6.0
>AudioAUUC 1.70
>!AUpstreamUserClient 3.6.12
>!AMCCSControl 1.17
>!AHIDALSService 1
@kext.AMDFramebuffer 7.0.1
@kext.AMDRadeonServiceManager 7.0.1
@kext.AMDRadeonX4000 7.0.1
>!AGraphicsDevicePolicy 8.1.11
>AGPM 137
>!APlatformEnabler 2.7.0d0
@UVCService 1
>X86PlatformShim 1.0.0
@AGDCPluginDisplayMetrics 8.1.11
@filesystems.autofs 3.0
>!ABridgeAudio!C 600.5
>!AGFXHDA 500.1
>pmtelemetry 1
@filesystems.nfs 1
|IOUserEthernet 1.0.1
>usb.!UUserHCI 1
>!AHV 1
>ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin 1.0.0
>!A!IMCEReporter 115
@kext.AMD9500!C 7.0.1
>BridgeAudioCommunication 600.5
>!AAVEBridge 6.1
>!AFIVRDriver 4.1.0
>!A!IPCHPMC 2.0.1
>SoftRAID 8.6
>!A!ISlowAdaptiveClocking 4.0.0
>!AThunderboltNHISpeedTest 0.0.1
>!AThunderboltIP 4.0.3
>!UDisplays 380
@!AEthernetAquantiaAqtionFirmware 1.0.36
|SCSITaskUserClient 541.40.1
>!UMass!SInterfaceNub 557
>BCMWLANFirmware4388.Hashstore 1
>BCMWLANFirmware4387.Hashstore 1
>BCMWLANFirmware4378.Hashstore 1
>BCMWLANFirmware4364.Hashstore 1
>!AFileSystemDriver 3.0.1
@filesystems.tmpfs 1
@filesystems.lifs 1
@filesystems.hfs.kext 704.60.1
@BootCache 40
@!AFSCompression.!AFSCompressionTypeZlib 1.0.0
@!AFSCompression.!AFSCompressionTypeDataless 1.0.0d1
@filesystems.apfs 2632.40.17
>!ABCMWLANBusInterfacePCIeMac 1
@private.KextAudit 1.0
>!AAHCIPort 386
>!AACPIButtons 6.1
>!ASMBIOS 2.1
>!AACPIEC 6.1
>!AAPIC 1.7
@!ASystemPolicy 2.0.0
@nke.applicationfirewall 406
|IOKitRegistryCompatibility 1
|EndpointSecurity 1
@Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X 7.0.0
>!ADiskImages2 514.61.1
@kec.!AEncryptedArchive 1
$SecureRemotePassword 1.0
>!ASMBus!C 1.0.18d1
@kext.AMDRadeonX4700HWLibs 1.0
|IOAccelerator!F2 486.1
@kext.AMDRadeonX4000HWServices 7.0.1
>!AGraphicsControl 8.1.11
>usb.cdc.acm 5.0.0
>usb.serial 6.0.0
>!UAudio 820.10
>!AAudioClockLibs 500.4
|IONDRVSupport 599
|IOAudio!F 700.2
>!A16X50Serial 3.2
>!ASMBusPCI 1.0.14d1
@kext.triggers 1.0
>IOHIDPowerSource 1
>!ACallbackPowerSource 1
|IOAVB!F 1400.10
>!ARSMChannel 1
|IORSM!F 1
>!AIPAppender 1.0
>IOPlatformPluginLegacy 1.0.0
>X86PlatformPlugin 1.0.0
@kext.AMDSupport 7.0.1
>IOPlatformPlugin!F 6.0.0d8
>driverkit.serial 6.0.0
@!AGPUWrangler 8.1.11
@!AGraphicsDeviceControl 8.1.11
|IOGraphics!F 599
|IOSlowAdaptiveClocking!F 1.0.0
>!AThunderboltEDMSink 5.0.3
@plugin.IOgPTPPlugin 1420.2
|IOAHCIBlock!S 364
>!AThunderboltDPOutAdapter 8.5.1
>!AThunderboltPCIUpAdapter 4.1.1
>!AThunderboltDPInAdapter 8.5.1
>!AThunderboltDPAdapter!F 8.5.1
>!AThunderboltPCIDownAdapter 4.1.1
>!AHPM 3.4.4
>!A!ILpssI2C!C 3.0.60
>!A!ILpssDmac 3.0.60
>usb.IOUSBHostHIDDevice 1.2
>usb.!UHub 1.2
>usb.cdc.ncm 5.0.0
>usb.cdc.ecm 5.0.0
>usb.cdc 5.0.0
>usb.networking 5.0.0
>usb.!UHostCompositeDevice 1.2
>!ABSDKextStarter 3
>usb.!UHostPacketFilter 1.0
|IOSurface 393.3.2
@filesystems.hfs.encodings.kext 1
>!ASyntheticGame!C 13.2.8
>!AThunderboltNHI 7.2.81
|IOThunderbolt!F 9.3.3
>!AXsanScheme 3
>!ABCMWLANCoreMac 1.0.0
|IO80211!F 1200.13.1
>IOImageLoader 1.0.0
>!ASSE 1.0
>usb.!UVHCIBCE 1.2
>usb.!UVHCICommonBCE 1.0
>usb.!UVHCI 1.2
>usb.!UVHCICommon 1.0
>!AEffaceableNOR 1.0
>!AOLYHALMac 1
|IOSerial!F 11
>corecapture 1.0.4
>!AEthernetAquantiaAqtion 1.0.64
|IOBufferCopy!C 1.1.0
|IOBufferCopyEngine!F 1
|IONVMe!F 2.1.0
>!A!ILpssI2C 3.0.60
|IOAHCI!F 308
>usb.!UXHCIPCI 1.2
>usb.!UXHCI 1.2
>!A!ILpssGspi 3.0.60
>!AEFINVRAM 2.1
>!ASMCRTC 1.0
>!AEFIRuntime 2.1
|IOSMBus!F 1.1
|IOHID!F 2.0.0
|IOTimeSync!F 1420.2
|IOSkywalk!F 1.0
>mDNSOffloadUserClient 1.0.1b8
|IONetworking!F 3.4
>DiskImages 493.0.0
|IO!B!F 9.0.0
|IOReport!F 47
$quarantine 4
$sandbox 300.0
@kext.!AMatch 1.0.0d1
>!ALockdownMode 1
>!AKeyStore 2
>!UTDM 557
|IOUSBMass!SDriver 270
|IOUSBHost!F 1.2
>!UHostMergeProperties 1.2
>usb.!UCommon 1.0
>!ABusPower!C 1.0
|IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice 541.40.1
|IOSCSIArchitectureModel!F 541.40.1
>!AFDEKeyStore 28.30
>!AEffaceable!S 1.0
|IO!S!F 2.1
>!ACyrus 1
>!AMobileFileIntegrity 1.0.5
$!AImage4 7.0.0
@kext.CoreTrust 1
>!ACredentialManager 1.0
|CoreAnalytics!F 1
>!ASEPManager 1.0.1
>IOSlaveProcessor 1
>!AACPIPlatform 6.1
|IOPCI!F 2.9
>!ASMC 3.1.9
|IOACPI!F 1.4
>watchdog 1
@kec.pthread 1
@kec.XrtHostedXnu 1
@kec.Libm 1
@kec.Compression 1.0
@kec.corecrypto 26.0