Ubuntu plans to strip down GRUB in version 26.10 by removing support for many filesystems, image formats, and partition tables from signed builds to reduce attack surface and improve Secure Boot security. This will require systems to use an ext4 /boot partition, affecting encrypted, ZFS, XFS, or BTRFS setups, though features remain available without Secure Boot. The change aims to pave the way for future boot solutions while maintaining compatibility for affected systems on 26.04 LTS.
Background
GRUB is a widely used bootloader in Linux systems, but its complexity and numerous parsers have historically been a source of security vulnerabilities. Secure Boot is a feature that ensures only trusted software runs during boot.
- Source
- Lobsters
- Published
- Mar 25, 2026 at 07:07 PM
- Score
- 7.0 / 10