Concerns About UEFI Firmware Update in Kubuntu

[welcomegoodgames]

Hello everyone,

kubuntu 24.04.2 LTS

Hello everyone,

I’m a newbie to Kubuntu and my English isn’t very good, so if possible, I’d appreciate it if you could respond to my question in a simple and understandable way.

In the past, when I installed Kubuntu on my three computers, I always encountered an error that required me to disable Secure Boot in the BIOS. Only after that could the installation of Kubuntu begin. Each time I reinstalled, I had to disable Secure Boot, and then I would always turn it back on after the installation. I checked the system manually, although I didn’t use Balena Etcher.

Recently, I received a notification in Discover that my UEFI firmware had been updated. This made me a bit uneasy, and I decided to reinstall Kubuntu because it felt strange to receive such a notification. Now, the installation of Kubuntu goes smoothly without needing to disable Secure Boot.

I have a question: could the firmware update have been initiated by a malicious actor? If so, how can I determine if there has been unauthorized access or interference with my system?

If you need any logs or additional information, I can provide whatever is necessary. Here are some logs I was able to find thanks to the GPT chat, but please don’t judge too harshly as I’m not entirely sure if this is what you need. If it’s not, could you please guide me on how to find the relevant information?

Thank you for your attention, and I would appreciate any advice!

Best regards, welcomegoodgames

(In the notifications in Discover about UEFI, there was also mention of proprietary software for UEFI in Linux).



for example

Apr 24 20:09:44 user-PC (udev-worker)[430]: card1: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper change snap_firmware-updater_firmware-updater /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card1 226:1' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:09:44 user-PC (udev-worker)[430]: card1: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper change snap_firmware-updater_firmware-updater-app /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card1 226:1' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:09:44 user-PC (udev-worker)[430]: card1: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper change snap_firmware-updater_firmware-notifier /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card1 226:1' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:09:44 user-PC (udev-worker)[430]: card1: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper change snap_firmware-updater_firmware-updater /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card1 226:1' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:09:44 user-PC (udev-worker)[430]: card1: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper change snap_firmware-updater_firmware-updater-app /devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:02.0/drm/card1 226:1' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:09:45 user-PC sbkeysync[899]: firmware keys:
Apr 24 20:09:47 user-PC systemd[1]: Startup finished in 30.642s (firmware) + 3.169s (loader) + 2.671s (kernel) + 6.002s (userspace) = 42.486s.
Apr 24 20:41:04 user-PC kernel: r8152 3-2:1.0: skip request firmware
Apr 24 20:41:04 user-PC (udev-worker)[407]: system: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper add snap_firmware-updater_firmware-notifier /devices/virtual/dma_heap/system 249:0' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:41:04 user-PC (udev-worker)[407]: system: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper add snap_firmware-updater_firmware-updater /devices/virtual/dma_heap/system 249:0' failed with exit code 1.
Apr 24 20:41:04 user-PC (udev-worker)[407]: system: Process '/usr/lib/snapd/snap-device-helper add snap_firmware-updater_firmware-updater-app /devices/virtual/dma_heap/system 249:0' failed with exit code 1.

[Qqmike]

Recently, I received a notification in Discover that my UEFI firmware had been updated. This made me a bit uneasy, and I decided to reinstall Kubuntu because it felt strange to receive such a notification.could the firmware update have been initiated by a malicious actor? If so, how can I determine if there has been unauthorized access or interference with my system?

Some people here have good experience with the entire issue of "firmware updates." Let's wait for them.
This depends on your machine and firmware and other things, etc etc.

Since no one is answering yet (on Sunday, maybe), let me reassure you that there is nothing wrong with Discover offering a firmware update.
It happens frequently, probably to almost everyone here. The likelihood of there being a malicious actor is just about ZERO.
Do not worry about that.

As for the hit-and-miss regarding turning Secure Boot off, on, off, on ... well, don't worry about that either!
If you have Windows also installed, Windows will want Secure Boot turned ON (I do believe).
For Kubuntu, I usually turn Secure Boot OFF, and I keep it OFF.
However ... I do not think it really matters.
The developers of Linux have made provisions for assuring security upon booting your computer with a Linux boot loader (called GRUB), using "shim" as a helper.
Don't worry about these details. To learn more, you can do google searches, but do not worry about it.
As long as your Kubuntu is booting, it's all OK.

[claydoh]

You can disable firmware updates in Discover's settings.

These come from manufacturers via LVFS

I've never had a UEFI firmware (AKA "BIOS") update from this, but I wish I had a computer that did. Updating the BIOS in Linux can be a major pain in the backside, especially if you don't have a Windows install and the vendor doesn't supply files that work outside of Windows.

I have had firmware for things l like Logitech wireless dongles,

And recently Microsoft have put out a UEFI dbx update that **may** be what you have seen, but I don't think this would have fixed the problem that you had. I'm not sure, though.


tl; dr I trust it but you can turn it off if you have doubts.