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Omarchy
ProbeLabs65 findings · 95 requirementsA proof layer — requirements, tests and verified fixes — for two of Omarchy's subsystems: the application menu (launcher scripts, QML model, JSONC config, search and selection) and the lock screen (lock scripts, QML, PAM authentication). Scope is deliberately limited to those components of omacom/omarchy; the rest of the distribution is not covered.
`omarchy windows vm launch` fails silently when the shared folder has the setgid bit
Reported by willbearfruits · filed Sep 7, 2026Closed upstream on 2026-09-20 by bjarneo via an automated message, as a duplicate of #9334 (R-1173). GitHub close reason: completed.
At a glance
- 1 · What is claimed?
- Only the report text below — no validator has restated it as checkable claims yet.
- 2 · What does it affect?
- Not yet mapped to any requirement or component.
- 3 · Is it reproducible?
- No validation has been run yet.
- 4 · What remains unclear?
- Not validated yet: no claims, no reproducer.
- 5 · What happens next?
- Our staff decide whether the report is valid. Where this project allows it, agents decide whether it duplicates another report or a known issue. No decision has been recorded yet.
Original report
What happened
omarchy windows vm launch fails with no diagnostic beyond:
Starting Windows VM (this may prompt for authorization)...
❌ Failed to start Windows VM!
Try checking: omarchy-windows-vm statusomarchy windows vm status reports the container normally. Running the
privileged action directly exits 1 and prints nothing at all:
$ pkexec /usr/share/omarchy/bin/omarchy-windows-vm __priv up_wait
rc=1Root cause
prepare_caller_mounts hardens both bind sources and then asserts the result
(bin/omarchy-windows-vm, lines 583-594 on main):
chmod 0700 -- "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" || { ... }
storage_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" 2>/dev/null) || storage_mode=""
shared_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" 2>/dev/null) || shared_mode=""
if [[ $storage_mode != 700 || $shared_mode != 700 ]]; then
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1
fi**GNU chmod deliberately preserves setuid/setgid on directories when given a
numeric mode.** So if ~/Windows is 2700, the chmod 0700 succeeds, the bit
survives, stat -Lc '%a' returns 2700, the comparison against 700 fails,
and the function returns 1 with no message. Minimal proof (coreutils 9.11):
$ mkdir t && chmod 2700 t
$ stat -c %a t # 2700
$ chmod 0700 t && stat -c %a t # 2700 <-- unchanged
$ chmod g-s t && stat -c %a t # 700How the directory gets setgid in the first place
The dockurr/windows image sets it itself. /run/samba.sh runs chmod 2777
on the shared folder whenever it finds it empty at VM start:
# Keep newly created content in the shared group through the setgid bit.
if ! chmod 2777 "$dir"; thenThose are the only two chmod calls the image makes against the share (lines
139 and 159), both gated on the directory being empty. So the ordinary
lifecycle is: omarchy windows vm install creates an empty ~/Windows ->
first boot stamps it 2777 -> a later Omarchy run knocks it down to 2700 ->
the setgid bit is now permanent, and every subsequent launch fails silently.
This is self-inflicted by the normal install path, not an exotic local state.
Steps to reproduce
chmod g+s ~/Windows
omarchy windows vm launch # fails with no reason givenExpected
Either normalize the bit (chmod 0700 cannot; chmod g-s or chmod u=rwx,go=,g-s can),
or accept it — the setgid bit on a 0700 directory grants nothing, since the
group has no permissions at all.
Suggested fix
Two independent problems, both small:
- Clear the bit properly. Follow the
chmod 0700with an explicit
chmod g-s,u-s, or compare only the low three bits
((( 8#$storage_mode & 0777 ))) instead of a string equality against 700.
Both prepare_caller_mounts and the sibling chmod 0700 at lines 1018 and
1061 have the same blind spot.
- Say something on failure. Every other rejection in
assert_mounts_safe
prints a reason ("refusing an untrusted compose file", "refusing unexpected
host paths in the compose", ...). This path and the bare
prepare_caller_mounts || return 1 calls are silent, which makes the
failure very hard to trace — the launch aborts with only the generic
"Failed to start Windows VM!".
Workaround
chmod g-s ~/Windows # note: chmod 0700 ~/Windows will NOT workSystem
- Omarchy 4.0.2-1
- Kernel 7.1.9-arch1-2
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (GA106)
- Docker 29.7.2, image
dockurr/windows - GNU coreutils 9.11
View raw text
### What happened
`omarchy windows vm launch` fails with no diagnostic beyond:
```
Starting Windows VM (this may prompt for authorization)...
❌ Failed to start Windows VM!
Try checking: omarchy-windows-vm status
```
`omarchy windows vm status` reports the container normally. Running the
privileged action directly exits 1 and prints **nothing at all**:
```
$ pkexec /usr/share/omarchy/bin/omarchy-windows-vm __priv up_wait
rc=1
```
### Root cause
`prepare_caller_mounts` hardens both bind sources and then asserts the result
(`bin/omarchy-windows-vm`, lines 583-594 on `main`):
```bash
chmod 0700 -- "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" || { ... }
storage_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" 2>/dev/null) || storage_mode=""
shared_mode=$(stat -Lc '%a' "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" 2>/dev/null) || shared_mode=""
if [[ $storage_mode != 700 || $shared_mode != 700 ]]; then
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1
fi
```
**GNU `chmod` deliberately preserves setuid/setgid on directories when given a
numeric mode.** So if `~/Windows` is `2700`, the `chmod 0700` succeeds, the bit
survives, `stat -Lc '%a'` returns `2700`, the comparison against `700` fails,
and the function returns 1 with no message. Minimal proof (coreutils 9.11):
```
$ mkdir t && chmod 2700 t
$ stat -c %a t # 2700
$ chmod 0700 t && stat -c %a t # 2700 <-- unchanged
$ chmod g-s t && stat -c %a t # 700
```
### How the directory gets setgid in the first place
The `dockurr/windows` image sets it itself. `/run/samba.sh` runs `chmod 2777`
on the shared folder whenever it finds it empty at VM start:
```bash
# Keep newly created content in the shared group through the setgid bit.
if ! chmod 2777 "$dir"; then
```
Those are the only two `chmod` calls the image makes against the share (lines
139 and 159), both gated on the directory being empty. So the ordinary
lifecycle is: `omarchy windows vm install` creates an empty `~/Windows` ->
first boot stamps it `2777` -> a later Omarchy run knocks it down to `2700` ->
the setgid bit is now permanent, and every subsequent launch fails silently.
This is self-inflicted by the normal install path, not an exotic local state.
### Steps to reproduce
```bash
chmod g+s ~/Windows
omarchy windows vm launch # fails with no reason given
```
### Expected
Either normalize the bit (`chmod 0700` cannot; `chmod g-s` or `chmod u=rwx,go=,g-s` can),
or accept it — the setgid bit on a `0700` directory grants nothing, since the
group has no permissions at all.
### Suggested fix
Two independent problems, both small:
1. **Clear the bit properly.** Follow the `chmod 0700` with an explicit
`chmod g-s,u-s`, or compare only the low three bits
(`(( 8#$storage_mode & 0777 ))`) instead of a string equality against `700`.
Both `prepare_caller_mounts` and the sibling `chmod 0700` at lines 1018 and
1061 have the same blind spot.
2. **Say something on failure.** Every other rejection in `assert_mounts_safe`
prints a reason ("refusing an untrusted compose file", "refusing unexpected
host paths in the compose", ...). This path and the bare
`prepare_caller_mounts || return 1` calls are silent, which makes the
failure very hard to trace — the launch aborts with only the generic
"Failed to start Windows VM!".
### Workaround
```bash
chmod g-s ~/Windows # note: chmod 0700 ~/Windows will NOT work
```
### System
- Omarchy 4.0.2-1
- Kernel 7.1.9-arch1-2
- AMD Ryzen 7 3700X / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (GA106)
- Docker 29.7.2, image `dockurr/windows`
- GNU coreutils 9.11
Validation
Not checked yet. A validator will restate this report as checkable claims, map it to the project's requirements and write a reproducer that the proof engine runs.
Linked
Not linked to any known issue, other report or change yet.
Decision
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No decision has been recorded yet.