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Omarchy

ProbeLabs65 findings · 95 requirements

A 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.

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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.

Received and recorded verbatim. Nothing has been checked yet.

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

Windows VM launch fails silently when ~/Windows has the setgid bit (chmod 0700 preserves setgid)revision 1 · captured 2026-10-04 12:10 UTC via poll

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

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):

  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

chmod g-s ~/Windows ~/.windows

After 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.