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guilouv

Member

Registered: 2011-12-07

Posts: 33

[SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

Hello Archers,

The problem:
Few weeks ago, vmware stopped working. Every time I try to start my virtual machine through vmplayer, I receive the message error "Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory. Please make sure that the kernel module `vmmon' is loaded."

History:
For the record, I've been able to use this virtual machine with this exact same setup and lsmod lists vmmon. Now, I've noticed that the problem is that the vmmon module cannot be loaded even with a manual call to modprobe. Also, it is the same thing for the other vmware module (i.e. vmnet) and there are error messages in the boot logs regarding this issue with virtual networks. Note that both systemd services have been enable as per the archwiki.

From what I could find online, the exact same error message usually means that the modules' signatures can not be verified due to the boot secure option... but this option is disabled in my Bios.

Any advise from smart people would be greatly appreciated
Thanks !

Last edited by guilouv (2022-06-16 01:50:46)

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 21,739

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

Post the exact error you get and a dmesg excerpt. Going out on a somewhat safe limb, try adding "ibt=off" to your kernel parameters

guilouv

Member

Registered: 2011-12-07

Posts: 33

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

The exact error is "Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory. Please make sure that the kernel module `vmmon' is loaded."

And relevant dmesg output:

[    1.331179] vmmon: loading out-of-tree module taints kernel.
[    1.331226] vmmon: module verification failed: signature and/or required key missing - tainting kernel
[    1.332490] traps: Missing ENDBR: init_module+0x0/0x1a0 [vmmon]
[    1.332953] RIP: 0010:init_module+0x0/0x1a0 [vmmon]
[    1.333169]  ? LinuxDriver_Ioctl+0x14f0/0x14f0 [vmmon 8ecebe07c106ea2c6f849e6d6a6bdd878855580a]
[    1.333206]  ? LinuxDriver_Ioctl+0x14f0/0x14f0 [vmmon 8ecebe07c106ea2c6f849e6d6a6bdd878855580a]
[    1.333552] Modules linked in: vmmon(OE+) vmw_vmci crypto_user fuse bpf_preload ip_tables x_tables ext4 crc32c_generic crc16 mbcache jbd2 serio_raw rtsx_pci_sdmmc atkbd libps2 mmc_core vivaldi_fmap nvme xhci_pci crc32c_intel rtsx_pci nvme_core xhci_pci_renesas i8042 serio

As I mentioned, to me everything seems to be due to a failure in module signature verification. As far as I read online, this should happen when the boot secure option is enable in the Bios but this is not the case on my machine.
Since I'm stuck it's definitely because I'm missing something here so glad someone smarter than me came to offer some help.

Last edited by guilouv (2022-06-15 13:07:03)

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 21,739

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

That's definitely the ibt error, add ibt=off to your host's kernel parameters. https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Kernel_parameters

Not much to do with module signatures (well the first "error" yes, but that is normal and not cause for concern), but a new security feature for intel branch tracking that got introduced in the 5.18 kernel and needs relevant module support, and it's likely the vmware modules have not yet been relevantly adjusted. see

https://lwn.net/Articles/889475/
https://edc.intel.com/content/www/us/en … -tracking/

for more information.

Last edited by V1del (2022-06-15 14:33:57)

guilouv

Member

Registered: 2011-12-07

Posts: 33

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

That solved the issue. Thank you very much for the rescue.

I'm still curious to know how you've identified the problem. I've never heard about ibt before and could not find any relevant information when looking for a solution.
Learning is part of the process and will help me becoming a better user. Thanks for educating me if you have time.

V1del

Forum Moderator

Registered: 2012-10-16

Posts: 21,739

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

If you are a somewhat active reader here, you will at least tangentially have noticed this popping up with the nvidia proprietary drivers (because that's probably the largest install base for an out of kernel module) e.g. one of the earliest: https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=276805 (alternatively search for ibt=off with the forum search, you will find loads of threads on this) from that point it's pretty simple to imagine that this can affect any out of tree or proprietary module. So if you run into module loading errors with an out of tree module it was pretty simple to assume this to be the cause, the dmesg excerpt confirms it, the

: Missing ENDBR

clearly shows the kernel refuses to load the module because it does not contain this instruction.

guilouv

Member

Registered: 2011-12-07

Posts: 33

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

Thanks that helps. I am indeed an active reader (more than a writer because a lot of people are better than me) but I was not knowledgeable enough to interpret the : Missing ENDBR.
I've learned something and I like that. It's good to still be able to be intellectually stimulated and mentally entertained after more than 2 decades with Arch.

Whatever your daily job is and regardless of your tech skills level you always need smarter people to help you sometimes and that's where the Arch community shines.

Last edited by guilouv (2022-06-16 13:10:31)

Holonium

Member

Registered: 2022-07-07

Posts: 1

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

Thank you for posting this thread. It was quite helpful to me last night while trying to figure out why VMWare was working on one system, but not another without apparent differences. I had been pounding my head against a wall for the past week until I came across this.

OneEightZero

Member

Registered: 2022-07-20

Posts: 1

Re: [SOLVED] vmware - vmmon module

Thank you, thank you SO MUCH for this, V1del. I've been banging my head against the wall about this issue since  5.18 has dropped.

Much gratitude.