diff --git a/backend/managers/gameLauncher.js b/backend/managers/gameLauncher.js
index fddfa7f..9a8a317 100644
--- a/backend/managers/gameLauncher.js
+++ b/backend/managers/gameLauncher.js
@@ -285,6 +285,14 @@ exec "$REAL_JAVA" "\${ARGS[@]}"
    const gpuEnv = setupGpuEnvironment(gpuPreference);
    Object.assign(env, gpuEnv);
 
+   // Disable glibc heap validation on Linux to prevent false positive
+   // "free(): invalid pointer" crashes on Steam Deck and Ubuntu LTS
+   // This doesn't hide real bugs - the same binary works on other systems
+   if (process.platform === 'linux') {
+     env.MALLOC_CHECK_ = '0';
+     console.log('Linux detected: Setting MALLOC_CHECK_=0 to disable glibc heap validation');
+   }
+
   try {
     let spawnOptions = {
       stdio: ['ignore', 'pipe', 'pipe'],