Microsoft’s newest safety replace has ruined dual-boot Home windows and Linux PCs

Microsoft’s newest month-to-month safety replace is wreaking havoc on dual-boot Home windows and Linux techniques. The software program large issued a safety patch final week to repair a two-year-old vulnerability within the GRUB open-source boot loader utilized by a number of Linux gadgets. Microsoft’s patch wasn’t imagined to hit dual-boot gadgets, however many have discovered it has and it’s now stopping their Linux installs from booting correctly.

Ars Technica reviews that a number of Linux dual-boot customers are seeing “safety coverage violation” messages, together with “one thing has gone significantly mistaken” errors. There are reviews of points throughout Reddit, Ubuntu boards, and elsewhere. Distributions together with Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, and Pet Linux have all been affected by Microsoft’s patch.

The replace was supposed to repair a vulnerability that allowed hackers to bypass Safe Boot, a expertise that’s extensively utilized by Home windows and Linux distributions to make sure malicious firmware isn’t loaded onto gadgets throughout boot. Microsoft stated earlier this month it might apply “a Safe Boot Superior Focusing on (SBAT) replace to dam susceptible Linux boot loaders that would have an effect on Home windows safety,” however that the replace wouldn’t be utilized to dual-boot techniques with each Home windows and Linux so it “shouldn’t have an effect on these techniques.”

Microsoft hasn’t commented on the problems its replace has triggered, however there may be a workaround for Ubuntu customers that entails disabling Safe Boot on the BIOS stage after which logging right into a Ubuntu consumer account and opening a terminal to delete Microsoft’s SBAT coverage.

Microsoft has been utilizing Safe Boot in Home windows for years, and made it a key requirement for Home windows 11 to make use of the expertise to safe towards BIOS rootkits. Researchers have discovered loads of vulnerabilities in Safe Boot through the years, and lately it was found that Safe Boot is utterly damaged on many PCs.