re-open: element-desktop crashes with exit code 132 (gather_data_sampling=off)

[kmille]

Steps to reproduce

This is a re-open of #1397 as Arch is using electron28 in the meantime, but the issue is still present.

The behaviour I observe: element-desktop crashes with exit code 132 (illegal hardware):

kmille@linbox:~ /usr/bin/element-desktop
/home/kmille/.config/Element exists: yes
/home/kmille/.config/Riot exists: no
No update_base_url is defined: auto update is disabled
Fetching translation json for locale: en_EN
Changing application language to en
Fetching translation json for locale: en
Resetting the UI components after locale change
Resetting the UI components after locale change
Changing application language to en
Fetching translation json for locale: en
Resetting the UI components after locale change
zsh: illegal hardware instruction (core dumped)  /usr/bin/element-desktop

• it does not crash If I boot 6.7.1.arch1-1
• it does not crash if I boot 6.7.2.hardened1-1 and use gather_data_sampling=off as kernel parameter
• it crashes if I boot 6.7.2.hardened1-1 without having gather_data_sampling=off parameter

My toughts about it:

• there was a CPU speculation vulnerability and a microkernel fix
• my CPU has not received a microcode update (out of date, Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz)
• the Linux kernel has a software mitigation (I think it removes AVX)
• element-desktop/electron fails to enumerate AVX properly, see the commit message:

This is a big hammer. It is known to break buggy userspace that uses incomplete, buggy AVX enumeration. Unfortunately, such userspace does exist in the wild

• what works for me: using the kernel paremter gather_data_sampling=off (disables the Kernel software mitigation) and being unsafe

We already spoke about it, but now Arch Linux's electron-desktop is now using electron28 and not electron25. I had the same issue with signal-desktop, but it was fixed (upstream).

Check the kernel docs about gather_data_sampling: https://docs.kernel.org/admin-guide/hw-vuln/gather_data_sampling.html-

Operating system

Arch Linux

Application version

1.11.54-1

Will you send logs?

Yes

[t3chguy]

It's a re-open of a not closed draft PR...?

[t3chguy]

Given, as you pointed this out, it is an Electron upstream issue - it cannot be fixed by us, it has to be fixed by your chosen package including an Electron version including the fix. Though it looks like the upstream issue is still open and I don't see the fix for it in the changelogs for 28.x - https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/40441

[kmille]

Upstream issue https://github.com/electron/electron/issues/41214