lubuntu grub-install puts efi in the wrong directory - could create an unbootable state

[Cory Petkovsek]

Lubuntu 19.04
grub-install from grub2-common 2.02+dfsg1-12ubuntu2

Summary:

The lubuntu installer puts the EFI in EFI/ubuntu. The firmware appears to be hard coded to this path. Lubuntu grub-install puts the EFI in EFI/lubuntu only, and NOT in EFI/ubuntu, which can result in an unbootable state (grub prompt).

Detail:

Long time debian, new lubuntu user. After a fresh install of lubuntu from usb:

$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0003
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0003,0002,0000,0001,2001,2002,2003
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0001* Linpus lite
Boot0002* debian
Boot0003* ubuntu
Boot2001* EFI USB Device
Boot2002* EFI DVD/CDROM
Boot2003* EFI Network

$ sudo update-grub
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub'
Sourcing file `/etc/default/grub.d/init-select.cfg'
Generating grub configuration file ...
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.0.0-17-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.0.0-17-generic
Found linux image: /boot/vmlinuz-5.0.0-13-generic
Found initrd image: /boot/initrd.img-5.0.0-13-generic
Found Windows Boot Manager on /dev/nvme0n1p1@/EFI/Microsoft/Boot/bootmgfw.efi
Found Debian GNU/Linux 9 (stretch) on /dev/nvme0n1p5
Adding boot menu entry for EFI firmware configuration
done

$ ls /boot/efi/EFI/
Boot debian Microsoft ubuntu

$ sudo grub-install
Installing for x86_64-efi platform.
Installation finished. No error reported.

$ ls /boot/efi/EFI/
Boot debian lubuntu Microsoft ubuntu

#### It installs only to lubuntu and NOT also to ubuntu. See comments below.

$ efibootmgr
BootCurrent: 0003
Timeout: 0 seconds
BootOrder: 0004,0003,0002,0000,0001,2001,2002,2003
Boot0000* Windows Boot Manager
Boot0001* Linpus lite
Boot0002* debian
Boot0003* ubuntu
Boot0004* lubuntu
Boot2001* EFI USB Device
Boot2002* EFI DVD/CDROM
Boot2003* EFI Network

$ strings /boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu/* |egrep EFI/l?ubuntu
/EFI/ubuntu

$ strings /boot/efi/EFI/lubuntu/* |egrep EFI/l?ubuntu
/EFI/ubuntu

I discovered this when I moved my lubuntu partition to another drive and tried to get grub to reinstall. I also deleted unnecessary EFIs (ubuntu and later both). I only figured out the problem after reinstalling Lubuntu from scratch and observing the state of the EFI partition after install.

If the ubuntu folder is removed (and possibly requiring a partion id change but not likely), attempting to boot lubuntu will go to a grub prompt.

`set` revealed:
`root=(hd1,gpt1)` (my EFI partition)
`prefix=(hd1,gpt1)/EFI/ubuntu` (had been deleted, and grub-install did not put it back)

Lubuntu could be booted with the following commands, where hd1, partition 7 is the new root:

```
set root=(hd1,gpt7)
set prefix=(hd1,gpt7)/boot/grub
insmod normal
normal
```

No amount of running `update-grub`, and `grub-install`, creating custom grub entries, or running grub from debian or a rescue disk mattered. The only thing that fixed it was reinstalling as that's the only thing that put the EFI/ubuntu folder back. I probably could have just manually renamed the directory in EFI from lubuntu to ubuntu.

[Cory Petkovsek (tinmanjuggernaut)]

$ diff -r /boot/efi/EFI/lubuntu/ /boot/efi/EFI/ubuntu/
$

[apt-ghetto (apt-ghetto)]

Thank you for filing this bug report.

In my opinion, this bug is not caused by grub2, but by a configuration file in calamares-settings-ubuntu.

During installation the variable GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR in /etc/default/grub is set to 'Lubuntu 19.04' instead of `lsb_release -i -s 2> /dev/null || echo Debian`.

####################################################

[Test Case]
1. Install Lubuntu 19.04 in EFI mode
2. Check that there is a boot entry named "ubuntu" with: sudo efibootmgr -v
3. Install Grub: sudo grub-install
4. Check that there are now two boot entries for Lubuntu: One named "ubuntu" with "File(\EFI\ubuntu\shimx64.efi)" and another named "lubuntu" with "File(\EFI\lubuntu\shimx64.efi)"
5. Edit /etc/default/grub and replace "GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR='Lubuntu 19.04'" with "GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR='bug'"
6. Reinstall Grub
7. Check that there are now three boot entries for Lubuntu: "ubuntu", "lubuntu", and "bug"

[Raman Sarda (theloudspeaker)]

@apt-ghetto I don't think the issue is due to calamares-settings-ubuntu. I have followed your instructions about renaming GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR to "bug" and reproduced the issue. But I checked the config file of calamares-settings-ubuntu on phab. and as far as I understand it, the installer might be setting the distributor to "Lubuntu 19.04" but it creates the directory under ESP and also the nvram entry according to this file : https://phab.lubuntu.me/source/calamares-settings-ubuntu/browse/master/lubuntu/modules/bootloader.conf
which has efiBootloaderId: "Ubuntu"

I cannot find a config file anywhere in the calamares-settings-ubuntu which sets GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR to "Lubuntu 19.04"

So the question is "what sets GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR like that?"

[ԜаӀtеr Ⅼарсһуnѕkі (wxl)]

This was fixed in:

=====

calamares-settings-ubuntu (1:19.10.4) eoan; urgency=medium

  [ Dan Simmons ]
  * Bump Standards-Version to 4.4.0, no changes needed.
  * Bump debhelper to 12, no changes needed.
  * Adjust automirror config to new style. Change automirror module
    to allow for new config style.
  * Add setting for donate button in welcome.
  * Add geoip for welcome.
  * Adjust locale.conf to new geoip style.
  * Set userSwapChoices to none in partition.conf.
  * Set defaultFileSystemType to "ext4" in partition.conf.
  * Set default dont-chroot, oem-setup, disable-cancel, to
    eliminate warnings from settings.conf.
  * Add efiMountOptions: umask=0077 to fstab.conf.
  * Set restart mode to new style in finished.conf.
  * Set bootloader entry name to Ubuntu.
  * Set slide show API to 1 to eliminate warnings.
  * Fix lintian errors and warnings.
    - Add depends for python3 in calamares-settings-ubuntu-common.
    - Adjust depends for calamares-settings-lubuntu.
    - Add further description to extended description for
      calamares-settings-lubuntu and calamares-settings-ubuntu.
    - Add lintian override for bash in .desktop file.
    - Remove unusual-interpreter in .desktop file.
    - Adjust Makefile so .desktop file so it is not executable.
    - Add keywords to .desktop file.
    - Remove executable flag from automirror.conf and module.desc.
    - Adjust debian/rules dpkg-architecture-variable.

  [ apt-ghetto ]
  * Fix small issues in automirror module
    - Remove whitespace before index bracket.
    - Remove undefined variable.
    - Fix over-indented block.

 -- Dan Simmons <email address hidden> Tue, 20 Aug 2019 19:59:12 -0400

=====

The full diff is here:
https://phab.lubuntu.me/rCALASETTINGScd7fa92d15410c58e80490028a508114d5ca9aec

The crucial change being reverting the bootloaderEntryName in the Calamares branding.desc to "Ubuntu." Though it would be nice to be flavor specific, a lot in the Ubuntu system depends upon the value of GRUB_DISTRIBUTOR being as such.

Beyond how Calamares affects GRUB settings, GRUB should otherwise be uninvolved.