> Source: [sk184718](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk184718)

# sk184718 - vpnd crashes after downgrading from R81.20 JHF Take 122 to Take 120

| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Solution ID | sk184718 |
| Date Created | 2026-02-22 |
| Last Modified | 2026-03-03 |
| Technical Level | General |
| Products | Security Gateway |
| Versions | R81.20 |
| OS | Gaia |
| Platform | Smart-1 |

## Symptoms

- * After rolling back the cluster and Security Management Server (SMS) from R81.20 JHF 122; 120, the Remote Access VPN fails to establish tunnels.
* VPND process repeatedly crashes and generates multiple core dumps.
* PID of VPND process constantly changes

## Cause

The VPND process on the gateway crashes during startup because the structure passed into cptls_neg_manager_init_instance is left uninitialized.  
Garbage values flow into the TLS negotiation manager, causing undefined behavior and eventual termination.

## Solution

[Contact Check Point Support](https://www.checkpoint.com/support-services/contact-support/) to get a Hotfix for this issue.

A Support Engineer will make sure the Hotfix is compatible with your environment before providing it.  
For faster resolution and verification, collect these files:

1. [CPinfo](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk92739) file from the Management Server involved in the case.
2. [CPinfo](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk92739) file from the Security Gateway / each Cluster Member / Security Group involved in the case.

**Hotfix installation instructions:**   
Refer to [sk168597 - How to install a Hotfix](https://support.checkpoint.com/results/sk/sk168597).  

A custom hotfix provided by R\&D resolves the issue.  
This custom fix corrects the mismatched vpnd binaries resulting from rollback.  

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