Do you dual-boot Windows and Linux? Well, a recent Windows update seems to have been a bit messy and may have broken the ability to boot into Linux. Causing an alarming message to display of "Something has gone seriously wrong".
The update in question is in relation to CVE-2022-2601, and as the numbers there suggests, it's an issue from way back in 2022 that Microsoft decided just last week to go and patch up themselves. From the CVE:
A buffer overflow was found in grub_font_construct_glyph(). A malicious crafted pf2 font can lead to an overflow when calculating the max_glyph_size value, allocating a smaller than needed buffer for the glyph, this further leads to a buffer overflow and a heap based out-of-bounds write. An attacker may use this vulnerability to circumvent the secure boot mechanism.
It wasn't supposed to affect you if you do have Linux installed, as per Microsoft's own info they said:
To address this security issue, Windows will apply a Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) update to block vulnerable Linux boot loaders that could have an impact on Windows security. The SBAT value is not applied to dual-boot systems that boot both Windows and Linux and should not affect these systems. You might find that older Linux distribution ISOs will not boot. If this occurs, work with your Linux vendor to get an update.
However, that seems to have still caused problems for those that do dual-boot. Oops. There's been quite a few reports of people unable to boot into their Linux distributions as a result of this update. A potential solution can be found in an Ubuntu Discourse post from 2023 for a previous issue.
Microsoft haven't yet said anything about it that I can find, and their update page notes "Microsoft is not currently aware of any issues with this update", so clearly that needs an update.
Article taken from GamingOnLinux.com.
Mountain Man Aug 21
Quoting: Mountain ManAs far as Microsoft is concerned, this isn't a bug, it's a feature.
Correction... As far as Microsoft is concerned, this is Linux's fault.
redneckdrow Aug 22
Back when I dual-booted with Windows, the more I used Linux, the less often I switched between them.
I realized that single-booting keeps you from tearing your hair out after booting that unused partition once every six months; realizing that you have to spend hours updating programs by hand that you could have updated with a single command in most Linux distros. Then undoing half the forced updates that destroy any reasonable expectation of privacy and install snake-oil "security" tools from "trusted partners"...
Windows used to have a form of Unix-like protections available, but none of them were ever without flaws. See EMET et al.
It's a vicious cycle that I got sick of entirely around 2016!
Quoting: MarlockQuick question: what system has a copy of grub installed (not by windows, because it's never used by windows) but doesn't have linux so it's ok to replace/block grub?
Any system.
Quoting: HighballPlease elaborateQuoting: MarlockQuick question: what system has a copy of grub installed (not by windows, because it's never used by windows) but doesn't have linux so it's ok to replace/block grub?
Any system.
pleasereadthemanual Aug 22
Quoting: redneckdrowThe best thing an experienced Linux user can do to save their sanity is to bite the bullet and go Linux-only. Unless you're required to work with Windows-only tools, of which there are very few that won't work in WINE these days, for a job.99% of the time I'm in Linux. The 1% of the time is every Saturday to play Rainbow Six: Siege, and I doubt that's going to change any time soon.
For my job, I use my Mac for Adobe. Once its time is up, I'll either use Adobe on Windows through my dual-boot (it'll be Windows 11 by then...) or in a VM as the performance is passable and I only need it on occasion. Or maybe by 2027, the web versions of Adobe software will be a real option. Or maybe graphite.rs will be a real option.
There are also visual novels that only work in Windows mainly because of DRM, so my VM gets occasional use for that.
I mean, unpopular opinion and all, but I don't mind Windows; I just like Linux more. Probably because I only need to use Windows occasionally. The more experienced I get with Linux, the more useless I feel on Windows.
Quoting: MarlockQuoting: HighballPlease elaborateQuoting: MarlockQuick question: what system has a copy of grub installed (not by windows, because it's never used by windows) but doesn't have linux so it's ok to replace/block grub?
Any system.
You can point Grub at any kernel to load. Haiku, Redox, whatever. LILO was popular back in the day. Nothing is stopping anybody from getting rid of Grub and switching boot loaders. You can even point one boot loader at another boot loader. That's how most people dual boot Windows. Grub loads, then start WinLoader, then WinLoader starts onekernel.
Quoting: Linux_RocksQuoting: Claude_LibI have Windows on a separate drive for rare occasions when I need it. The only clue two systems have about each other's existence is that Windows messes up the clock because I keep forgetting to set the RealTimeIsUniversal registry key.I always just set Linux to use local time. One quick line in terminal is easier than a registry edit in Windows.
Local time is the wrong choice of course, like your files having mtime in the future when DST hits or if you take the train to the next city which happens to be in a different timezone.
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