Validation Error in 11 Shader Execution Reorder in Debug mode

[hlavacs]

When running 11 Shader Execution Reorder in Debug mode this validation error occurs in createRayTracingPipeline() when calling vkCreateRayTracingPipelinesKHR() (When in Debugger, the debugging is halted)

Validation Error: [ VUID-VkPipelineShaderStageCreateInfo-pSpecializationInfo-06849 ] | MessageID = 0x437c19d3
vkCreateRayTracingPipelinesKHR(): pCreateInfos[0].pStages[0] After specialization was applied, VkShaderModule 0x0 produces a spirv-val error (stage VK_SHADER_STAGE_RAYGEN_BIT_KHR):
Type must be OpTypeHitObjectEXT
OpHitObjectTraceRayEXT %hitObj %580 %uint_0 %uint_255 %uint_0 %uint_0 %uint_0 %575 %576 %577 %578 %p_0

Command to reproduce:
spirv-val <input.spv> --relax-block-layout --uniform-buffer-standard-layout --scalar-block-layout --allow-localsizeid --target-env vulkan1.4

The Vulkan spec states: If a shader module identifier is not specified, the shader code used by the pipeline must be valid as described by the Khronos SPIR-V Specification after applying the specializations provided in pSpecializationInfo, if any, and then converting all specialization constants into fixed constants (https://docs.vulkan.org/spec/latest/chapters/pipelines.html#VUID-VkPipelineShaderStageCreateInfo-pSpecializationInfo-06849)

Validation Error: [ VUID-VkPipelineShaderStageCreateInfo-pSpecializationInfo-06849 ] | MessageID = 0x437c19d3
vkCreateRayTracingPipelinesKHR(): pCreateInfos[0].pStages[0] After specialization was applied, VkShaderModule 0x0 produces a spirv-val error (stage VK_SHADER_STAGE_RAYGEN_BIT_KHR):
Type must be OpTypeHitObjectEXT
OpHitObjectTraceRayEXT %hitObj %580 %uint_0 %uint_255 %uint_0 %uint_0 %uint_0 %575 %576 %577 %578 %p_0

Command to reproduce:
spirv-val <input.spv> --relax-block-layout --uniform-buffer-standard-layout --scalar-block-layout --allow-localsizeid --target-env vulkan1.4

The Vulkan spec states: If a shader module identifier is not specified, the shader code used by the pipeline must be valid as described by the Khronos SPIR-V Specification after applying the specializations provided in pSpecializationInfo, if any, and then converting all specialization constants into fixed constants (https://docs.vulkan.org/spec/latest/chapters/pipelines.html#VUID-VkPipelineShaderStageCreateInfo-pSpecializationInfo-06849)

[hlavacs]

This error does not appear in previous builds in other directories. The repo with this error was cloned today, 31.1.2026

[mklefrancois]

We are aware of this issue, which is caused by the latest version of Slang (2026.1.1).
The latest version of Slang supports the new VK_EXT_ray_tracing_invocation_reorder extension, but also mix the NV version.

The problem is there is currently a confusion (see Slang issue). Another issue is that the EXT extension isn't part of the official driver release. However, the Vulkan Beta driver, introduced on 14 November 2025, does include it and can be downloaded here: https://developer.nvidia.com/vulkan-driver.

Note: a new version of Slang (2026.2) should resolve the issue, but we will provide a workaround in the tutorial to prioritize EXT and use NV as a fallback. We will then remove the NV when the official driver is released.

See this document on Shader Execution Reordering: https://www.khronos.org/blog/boosting-ray-tracing-performance-with-shader-execution-reordering-introducing-vk-ext-ray-tracing-invocation-reorder.

Sorry for the inconvenience, and thank you again for reporting the issue.