Linux support for WD Black NVME 2018

I am confirming this issue with WDS500G2X0C (got it with Sager NP8954).
Xubuntu 18.4.1 live boots up and recognizes the partitions on NVMe, but any attempt to read the device causes system to freeze completely. That includes an attempt to start gparted or fdisk.
Filed a ticket with WD support but there is no word from them as of now.