linuxboot / linuxboot/heads

TPM reset is complex

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Description

The UX flow to reset the TPM and get back to a fully working state is pretty complex and requires knowledge of how Heads works that isn't obvious.

Currently, we rely on the fact that firmware upgrades in the absence of a TPM disk unlock key can get back to "working" just by resealing TOTP/HOTP, but this is somewhat fragile (relies on user to know to pick reseal over reset on the boot prompt, and there are a lot of ways the signatures could change that would now require TPM reset).

I see three issues making the TPM reset flow more complex than just resealing:

* You have to know to go to sign /boot afterward. If you don't and just try to default boot, it chokes and drops you to recovery, inexperienced user has no idea how to get back into the system
* You have to enter a lot more passwords, just more cumbersome
* You don't know if your /boot signatures were still valid, if you expected them to be but they were not, they get re-signed anyway. Maybe this isn't as useful as I think?

Some of this could be improved by extending the TPM reset UX.

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by tracing the existing TPM reset, reseal, and sign /boot flows described in the issue. Document the passwords, boot prompts, signature checks, and recovery transitions involved, then define the desired reset behavior and how a user can reach a fully working state. Confirm the design against firmware upgrade and default-boot scenarios.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
linux
Domain
operating-systems, security
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
5/5
Estimated time
Over a week
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Needs clarification
Newbie friendliness
25/100

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