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I used kexec to successfully load my kernel, but it's just printing dmesg lines. How do I get out of this to drop into the initramfs prompt? Ctrl-Alt-F2 just loads a black screen and ctrl-c does nothing.

Here is my kexec commandline:

kexec -l $kernel --initrd=$initrd --command-line="root=UUID=... acpi=off ro text earlyshell debug showerr debuginitrd"

earlyshell should provide me access to a shell, but it doesn't. Without that commandline, I just end up in a scripting loop that I can't break out of even with ctrl-c.

muru
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SurpriseDog
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  • think this post might help you https://askubuntu.com/questions/587934/ubuntu-14-04-2-cryptsetup-failed-on-boot as well as reddit thread https://www.reddit.com/r/linuxquestions/comments/8w9p11/cryptsetup_cryptsetup_failed_bad_password_or/ TL;TR, live USB stick with `luks` might help you here. – Bart Jun 30 '19 at 07:47
  • @Bart Unlocking the data with a live cd is easy, but that's not the point here. I'm trying to chainload one kernel to the next so that kernel-1 creates a custom initrd image with the key data and a custom script to unlock kernel-2 – SurpriseDog Jun 30 '19 at 14:35
  • Please don't add "solved" etc to the title. Marking an answer as accepted (when you can) is enough. – muru Jun 30 '19 at 15:26
  • @muru I cant accept my own answer for 2 full days. – SurpriseDog Jun 30 '19 at 15:29
  • (when you can...) – muru Jun 30 '19 at 15:36

2 Answers2

1

Solved:

The kernel argument: 

earlyshell

didn't actually launch a shell??? But running the kernel with the argument:

break=premount

gave me the initramfs shell.

This resource was very helpful: https://wiki.debian.org/InitramfsDebug

SurpriseDog
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0

Did you give the correct --initrd= to kexec?

I just installed and tried kexec. It works if I go

kexec -l /boot/vmlinuz --initrd=/boot/initrd.img --append=root=/dev/sda3

And then kexec -e. (i have no ecryption...)

I first tried to follow the hint "use /proc/cmdline" but that did not work. To me it looks like you have to give the --initrd= option extra.

You need the "initramfs prompt" to give the password (so you can mount the encrypted device) ?

Normally my /proc/cmdline looks like this 

vmlinuz initrd=initrd.cpio.gz root=/dev/sda3

After above kexec (and reboot) /proc/cmdline looks like this

root=/dev/sda3

The name of kernel and initrd are gone! Only the --append part is left. This does not even confuse me too much: just adds a new facette to the question: are kernel image and initrd image kernel options? Are they part of the (kernel) command line ?

I use uefi shell to boot. I know how important this "initrd=" is. With a boot loader (grub) it should work the same. It is just a different way (indirect) to choose a kernel, a initrd (if needed/wanted), a root, a init and all the normal "kernel options"

A standard initrd does this:

  • load modules to access root (my case: sata, ahci for my SIMPLE SSD drive)

  • mount that device (given by root=/dev/xxx)

  • "switch_root" to it (includes running /sbin/init)

In your case you need a password prompt (?), and not a sata-module. But the result is the same: root cannot be mounted.

Find out how your boot loader successfully boots, and then try to imitate that with kexec.

added:

the initrd (names don't matter...) is started by default with the /init script (check out the rdinit= boot option). This is "early userspace", corresponding to earlyshell. It looks like with this initramfs-tool you got enough breakpoints to control /init and the scripts that get called.

Otherwise one could extract that initrd (with gzip and cpio), change /init (or add /init_new and go rdinit=/init_new as boot option), and archive the folders again. This cpio command I had never used before, but it is actually simpler than tar. Just a bit different.

mkinitcpio is a tool for that. It mentions both early userspace and encryption right at the start. It is, I just read, a archlinux thing and also has late and early "hooks". Same function as initramfs-tools, I guess.

  • Okay that's all great, but how do I access the initramfs prompt? – SurpriseDog Jun 30 '19 at 15:03
  • I added at the end. Putting "exit" in your /init script in the initrd would "drop" you to the early shell / initramfs prompt. –  Jun 30 '19 at 21:21