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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.
Windows VM launch fails silently when ~/Windows has the setgid bit (chmod 0700 preserves setgid)
Reported by madmanmatt · filed Sep 11, 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
Summary
omarchy windows vm launch fails with a bare "❌ Failed to start Windows VM!" (no diagnostic) when ~/Windows or ~/.windows has the setgid bit set. The mount-hardening preflight runs chmod 0700 on both directories and then requires stat %a to be exactly 700, but GNU chmod deliberately preserves setgid/setuid on directories for 4-digit numeric modes, so the directory stays 2700 and prepare_caller_mounts returns 1 silently.
Environment
- Omarchy 4.0.3-1 (
bin/omarchy-windows-vmonquattrois byte-identical to the installed copy) - coreutils 9.11-2, docker 29.7.2, docker-compose 5.5.1
- Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc 140V (integrated), btrfs home
- Windows VM was installed under an earlier 4.0.x, before the mount-hardening commits (c34d20ca, a165185a); this launch was the first since updating.
Steps to reproduce
chmod g+s ~/Windows # or any pre-existing setgid shared folder
omarchy windows vm launch
# → "❌ Failed to start Windows VM!" immediately, nothing on stderrStandalone demonstration of the chmod behaviour:
$ mkdir -m 2700 Windows && stat -c %a Windows
2700
$ chmod 0700 -- Windows && stat -c %a Windows
2700 # setgid preserved
$ chmod 00700 -- Windows && stat -c %a Windows
700Where it fails
bin/omarchy-windows-vm, prepare_caller_mounts() (lines 583–594 on quattro):
chmod 0700 -- "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" || { ...; return 1; }
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 || $shared_mode != 700 ]]; then
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1 # <- no error message
fiTrace from sudo PKEXEC_UID=$(id -u) bash -x /usr/bin/omarchy-windows-vm __priv up_wait:
+ chmod 0700 -- /proc/80069/fd/11 /proc/80069/fd/12
++ stat -Lc %a /proc/80281/fd/11
+ storage_mode=700
++ stat -Lc %a /proc/80283/fd/12
+ shared_mode=2700
+ [[ 700 != 700 ]]
+ [[ 2700 != 700 ]]
+ return 1The same chmod 0700 -- "$storage" "$shared" pattern appears in prepare_user_mount_sources() (line 1018), so the user-side preflight doesn't catch it either.
Expected
Either the preflight normalises the mode fully, or it fails with a message telling the user which directory has the wrong mode.
Suggested fix
- Use a 5-digit mode (
chmod 00700) or an explicit symbolic clear (chmod u=rwx,go=,u-s,g-s) in both places so setuid/setgid/sticky are stripped along with the group/other bits. - Print an error on the
!= 700branch, e.g.omarchy-windows-vm: $path must be mode 0700 (is $mode)so the failure is diagnosable fromlaunchoutput.
Workaround
chmod g-s ~/Windows ~/.windowsAfter that, omarchy windows vm launch works normally.
View raw text
## Summary
`omarchy windows vm launch` fails with a bare "❌ Failed to start Windows VM!" (no diagnostic) when `~/Windows` or `~/.windows` has the setgid bit set. The mount-hardening preflight runs `chmod 0700` on both directories and then requires `stat %a` to be exactly `700`, but GNU `chmod` deliberately preserves setgid/setuid on directories for 4-digit numeric modes, so the directory stays `2700` and `prepare_caller_mounts` returns 1 silently.
## Environment
- Omarchy 4.0.3-1 (`bin/omarchy-windows-vm` on `quattro` is byte-identical to the installed copy)
- coreutils 9.11-2, docker 29.7.2, docker-compose 5.5.1
- Intel Core Ultra 7 258V, Arc 140V (integrated), btrfs home
- Windows VM was installed under an earlier 4.0.x, before the mount-hardening commits (c34d20ca, a165185a); this launch was the first since updating.
## Steps to reproduce
```bash
chmod g+s ~/Windows # or any pre-existing setgid shared folder
omarchy windows vm launch
# → "❌ Failed to start Windows VM!" immediately, nothing on stderr
```
Standalone demonstration of the chmod behaviour:
```
$ mkdir -m 2700 Windows && stat -c %a Windows
2700
$ chmod 0700 -- Windows && stat -c %a Windows
2700 # setgid preserved
$ chmod 00700 -- Windows && stat -c %a Windows
700
```
## Where it fails
`bin/omarchy-windows-vm`, `prepare_caller_mounts()` (lines 583–594 on `quattro`):
```bash
chmod 0700 -- "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$storage_fd" "/proc/$BASHPID/fd/$shared_fd" || { ...; return 1; }
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 || $shared_mode != 700 ]]; then
exec {storage_fd}<&-
exec {shared_fd}<&-
return 1 # <- no error message
fi
```
Trace from `sudo PKEXEC_UID=$(id -u) bash -x /usr/bin/omarchy-windows-vm __priv up_wait`:
```
+ chmod 0700 -- /proc/80069/fd/11 /proc/80069/fd/12
++ stat -Lc %a /proc/80281/fd/11
+ storage_mode=700
++ stat -Lc %a /proc/80283/fd/12
+ shared_mode=2700
+ [[ 700 != 700 ]]
+ [[ 2700 != 700 ]]
+ return 1
```
The same `chmod 0700 -- "$storage" "$shared"` pattern appears in `prepare_user_mount_sources()` (line 1018), so the user-side preflight doesn't catch it either.
## Expected
Either the preflight normalises the mode fully, or it fails with a message telling the user which directory has the wrong mode.
## Suggested fix
- Use a 5-digit mode (`chmod 00700`) or an explicit symbolic clear (`chmod u=rwx,go=,u-s,g-s`) in both places so setuid/setgid/sticky are stripped along with the group/other bits.
- Print an error on the `!= 700` branch, e.g. `omarchy-windows-vm: $path must be mode 0700 (is $mode)` so the failure is diagnosable from `launch` output.
## Workaround
```bash
chmod g-s ~/Windows ~/.windows
```
After that, `omarchy windows vm launch` works normally.
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
Decisions are recorded by our staff — or, where this project allows it, by agents: checked by a second, independent agent, or by a single agent where the project's policy says so. Any decision reached so far is shown below.
No decision has been recorded yet.