microsoft / microsoft/winget-cli

WinRTAct.dll from Microsoft.WindowsPackageManager.ComInterop NuGet Package crashes with Access Violation when RegFreeWinRT is used

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Issue-Bug
Dominant language
C++
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Description

Brief description of your issue

Using the module winrtact.dll to create WindowsPackageManager instances from an elevated process crashes if the executable uses RegFreeWinRT.

This makes it impossible to use the WinGet COM api from any elevated desktop (non-packaged) process that does use Register-Free WinRT (such as unpackaged self-contained app sdk projects and c++ Desktop Projects using WinRT APIs).

Event Viewer crash:

<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
  <Provider Name="Application Error" Guid="{a0e9b465-b939-57d7-b27d-95d8e925ff57}" /> 
  <EventID>1000</EventID> 
  <Version>0</Version> 
  <Level>2</Level> 
  <Task>100</Task> 
  <Opcode>0</Opcode> 
  <Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords> 
  <TimeCreated SystemTime="2024-04-13T15:50:42.6827644Z" /> 
  <EventRecordID>287262</EventRecordID> 
  <Correlation /> 
  <Execution ProcessID="32324" ThreadID="30092" /> 
  <Channel>Application</Channel> 
  <Computer>pc-name</Computer> 
  <Security UserID="<user-id>" /> 
  </System>
  <EventData>
  <Data Name="AppName">WingetUI.exe</Data> 
  <Data Name="AppVersion">3.0.1.0</Data> 
  <Data Name="AppTimeStamp">65cd0000</Data> 
  <Data Name="ModuleName">winrtact.dll</Data> 
  <Data Name="ModuleVersion">1.22.2404.9003</Data> 
  <Data Name="ModuleTimeStamp">6615a9aa</Data> 
  <Data Name="ExceptionCode">c0000005</Data> 
  <Data Name="FaultingOffset">0000000000008aa3</Data> 
  <Data Name="ProcessId">0x8d9c</Data> 
  <Data Name="ProcessCreationTime">0x1da8dba54249668</Data> 
  <Data Name="AppPath">C:\SomePrograms\WingetUI-Store\src\UniGetUI\bin\x64\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\WingetUI.exe</Data> 
  <Data Name="ModulePath">C:\SomePrograms\WingetUI-Store\src\UniGetUI\bin\x64\Release\net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0\win-x64\winrtact.dll</Data> 
  <Data Name="IntegratorReportId">2c2a5dca-bcbd-4153-b3ac-a9975722ce1b</Data> 
  <Data Name="PackageFullName" /> 
  <Data Name="PackageRelativeAppId" /> 
  </EventData>
  </Event>
Steps to reproduce

Two possible options to reproduce the bug:

  1. Create a C#/WinUI3/AppSdk project and set the project to run unpackaged and AppSdk to be self-contained. Run the process elevated and attempt to create a WindowsPackageManager instance through winrtact.dll (WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance). App will immediately hang and crash.
    Event viewer will report a crash on winrtact.dll 0xc0000005

  2. Create a C++ console app and enable WinRT APIs from project properties. Import winrtact.dll thorugh and attempt to create a WindowsPackageManager instance with WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance. App will immediately crash and exit with exit code 0xc0000005. Example code below:


typedef HRESULT(WINAPI* PFN_WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance)(
    const GUID& clsid,
    const GUID& iid,
    DWORD flags,
    void** instance);


static T* WinRTActCreateInstance(const GUID& clsid, const GUID& iid)
{
    void* pUnknown = nullptr;
    HRESULT hr = S_OK;

    HMODULE hModule = LoadLibrary("winrtact.dll");
    if (hModule)
    {
        PFN_WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance WinRTAct_DllCreateInstance = (PFN_WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance)GetProcAddress(hModule, "WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance");
        try
        {
            hr = WinRTAct_DllCreateInstance(clsid, iid, CLSCTX_ALL, &pUnknown);
            if (FAILED(hr))
                throw hr;

            T* pInterface;
            hr = ((IUnknown*)pUnknown)->QueryInterface(iid, (void**)&pInterface);
            if (FAILED(hr))
                throw hr;

            return pInterface;
        }
        catch (HRESULT hrException)
        {
            throw hrException;
        }
        catch (...)
        {
            throw;
        }
    }
    else
    {
	throw HRESULT_FROM_WIN32(GetLastError());
    }
}

int main()
{
    PackageManager* pointer = WinRTActCreateInstance<PackageManager>(CLSID, IID);
    // Everything OK
    // Pointer is not nullptr

    PackageManager winget = *pointer;
    // Crash with 0xC0000005
}

Expected behavior

Instances get created and the api is usable

Actual behavior

Crashes with 0xC0000005

Environment
Windows 11 x64 10.0.22635.3430
Tested on Windows Sandbox and the issue still happens

WinGet versions tested:
 - 1.7.xxx
 - 1.8.xxx-preview

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 with the listed C++ console and C#/WinUI3/AppSdk reproduction paths, focusing on winrtact.dll and its WinGetServerManualActivation_CreateInstance entry point under elevated RegFreeWinRT. Verify the 0xc0000005 failure on the stated Windows and WinGet versions; done means the WindowsPackageManager instance is created and its API can be used without a crash.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp, csharp
Domain
api, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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