[Bug 300041] [Enhancement] pkgbase: Add pre-upgrade compatibility checks for third-party kernel modules

From: <bugzilla-noreply_at_freebsd.org>
Date: Sun, 25 Oct 2026 14:03:22 UTC
https://bugs.freebsd.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=300041

            Bug ID: 300041
           Summary: [Enhancement] pkgbase: Add pre-upgrade compatibility
                    checks for third-party kernel modules
           Product: Base System
           Version: 15.1-STABLE
          Hardware: amd64
                OS: Any
            Status: New
          Severity: Affects Only Me
          Priority: ---
         Component: bin
          Assignee: bugs@FreeBSD.org
          Reporter: cizmarmatija44@gmail.com

I would like to suggest an enhancement to FreeBSD's pkgbase upgrade process
that would help users identify potential compatibility problems involving
third-party kernel modules before rebooting into an updated system.

FreeBSD 15 provides an increasingly unified package-management experience
through pkgbase. However, users with third-party kernel modules, such as NVIDIA
graphics drivers and DRM modules, may encounter compatibility issues after
kernel and package updates.

### Proposed enhancement

Introduce an optional pre-upgrade or post-upgrade diagnostic check that:

1. Identifies installed third-party kernel modules and relevant kernel
packages.
2. Checks available compatibility information against the target kernel version
and ABI.
3. Reports potentially incompatible or missing modules before reboot.
4. Identifies packages that may need rebuilding or upgrading.
5. Clearly distinguishes verified incompatibilities from situations where
compatibility cannot be determined.
6. Provides suggested next steps without automatically modifying the user's
configuration.

The feature could be integrated into the pkgbase upgrade workflow or made
available as a separate diagnostic command.

### Example

An illustrative report might look like:

Kernel module compatibility report

Target FreeBSD kernel: 15.x

nvidia-kmod        Compatibility: verified
nvidia-drm-kmod    Compatibility: requires review
drm-kmod           Compatibility: unknown

Warning: One or more modules may require attention
before restarting.

Review the listed packages and their build compatibility.


Motivation

I use FreeBSD 15.1-RELEASE with KDE Plasma Wayland and an NVIDIA graphics card.

I previously encountered package compatibility problems involving NVIDIA and
DRM kernel modules that affected the graphical session.

A diagnostic feature like this would make FreeBSD upgrades safer and easier to
understand, especially for users who depend on third-party kernel modules.

Expected benefit

This enhancement could improve upgrade reliability for desktop and server
installations while preserving FreeBSD's existing command-line administration
model.

It would be particularly useful for users upgrading between minor or major
FreeBSD releases.

I hope that you will consider this in future upgrades..Thanks

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