SoatDev IT Consulting
SoatDev IT Consulting
  • About us
  • Expertise
  • Services
  • How it works
  • Contact Us
  • News
  • August 21, 2024
  • Rss Fetcher
Illustration of a pixelated key next to a padlock and chain, implying online data security.
Cath Virginia / The Verge | Photo: Getty Images

Microsoft’s latest monthly security update is wreaking havoc on dual-boot Windows and Linux systems. The software giant issued a security patch last week to fix a two-year-old vulnerability in the GRUB open-source boot loader used by lots of Linux devices. Microsoft’s patch wasn’t supposed to hit dual-boot devices, but many have found it has and it’s now stopping their Linux installs from booting properly.

Ars Technica reports that multiple Linux dual-boot users are seeing “security policy violation” messages, along with “something has gone seriously wrong” errors. There are reports of issues across Reddit, Ubuntu forums, and elsewhere. Distributions including Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Zorin OS, and Puppy Linux have all been affected by Microsoft’s patch.

The update was supposed to fix a vulnerability that allowed hackers to bypass Secure Boot, a technology that’s widely used by Windows and Linux distributions to ensure malicious firmware isn’t loaded onto devices during boot. Microsoft said earlier this month it would apply “a Secure Boot Advanced Targeting (SBAT) update to block vulnerable Linux boot loaders that could have an impact on Windows security,” but that the update would not be applied to dual-boot systems with both Windows and Linux so it “should not affect these systems.”

Microsoft hasn’t commented on the issues its update has caused, but there is a workaround for Ubuntu users that involves disabling Secure Boot at the BIOS level and then logging into a Ubuntu user account and opening a terminal to delete Microsoft’s SBAT policy.

Microsoft has been using Secure Boot in Windows for years, and made it a key requirement for Windows 11 to use the technology to secure against BIOS rootkits. Researchers have found plenty of vulnerabilities in Secure Boot over the years, and recently it was discovered that Secure Boot is completely broken on many PCs.

Previous Post
Next Post

Recent Posts

  • Heybike’s Alpha step-through e-bike is an affordable, all-terrain dreamboat
  • U.S. lawmakers have concerns about Apple-Alibaba deal
  • Microsoft’s Satya Nadella is choosing chatbots over podcasts
  • MIT disavows doctoral student paper on AI’s productivity benefits
  • Laser-powered fusion experiment more than doubles its power output

Categories

  • Industry News
  • Programming
  • RSS Fetched Articles
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • August 2023
  • July 2023
  • June 2023
  • May 2023
  • April 2023

Tap into the power of Microservices, MVC Architecture, Cloud, Containers, UML, and Scrum methodologies to bolster your project planning, execution, and application development processes.

Solutions

  • IT Consultation
  • Agile Transformation
  • Software Development
  • DevOps & CI/CD

Regions Covered

  • Montreal
  • New York
  • Paris
  • Mauritius
  • Abidjan
  • Dakar

Subscribe to Newsletter

Join our monthly newsletter subscribers to get the latest news and insights.

© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved by Soatdev IT Consulting Inc.