Ubuntu 24.04 initramfs failed boot with Kernel 6.17.0-14-generic - Issue with virtualbox-dkms

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Ubuntu Version:
24.04 LTS

Problem Description:

About 2 to 3 months ago, an update to the Linux kernel by Ubuntu made it so I was unable to boot my computer. To fix it, I switched what kernel image I boot to.

A few days ago, this update was applied yet again, making it impossible once more to boot. I switched which kernel is booted once more.

This issue is different from other ones already presented for the same kernel version. In particular, I am getting past the GRUB phase. And I do not get a kernel panic.

Instead, I get dropped off at initramfs, with an error about the kernel giving up because it is unable to load the Root partition (that it must have loaded before in reality to get that far).

I have attached the dmesg of the initramfs issue, if it can help.

I would like to understand how I can debug this issue to fix it by changing some configuration on my end, or submitting a patch if it is another kind of problem.

I would also suggest that Canonical immediately stops pushing the kernel 6.17.0-14-generic update in general to LTS users. This set of kernel versions is known to cause problems, both on this forum and online, so it makes no sense to push it on users who just want to use an LTS for work or similar.

Relevant System Information:
My Laptop is an MSI Vector 16 HX A13VHG.

Screenshots or Error Messages:
Pastebin of dmesg of the kernel crashing at boot: https://pastebin.com/9rZtTNpD
Pastebin of dmesg of the kernel booting fine with the earlier version: https://pastebin.com/ivP3hneb

EDIT: Fixed, the issue was virtualbox-dkms. The module is unable to build for kernel 6.17.0-14. This causes the installation of the kernel to hang, causing the issue I reported above.

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The next time you reach initramfs, please type exit, there may be a message or two?

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Yeah, it printed about being unable to mount the root partition.

I am going to say that I found the issue:

The virtualbox-dkms module (installed via apt) is unable to build with kernel 6.17.0-14-generic for whatever reason. This causes a botched installation of the linux kernel, which causes the issue I reported above.

I think there are two problems:

  1. if the kernel installation fails, the grub entry shouldn’t be updated, same with the /boot files…

  2. virtualbox-dkms should be fixed so it doesn’t fail to build.

Hope this post helps other people in the future!

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Where did you find the issue?
This topic?

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Kind-of. It doesn’t have the same symptomatology, so it didn’t pop up for me.

But in general, the other issues similar to this talk about installing the kernel update from CLI instead of with the system updater (what happened to me that caused the initramfs drop issue), so I figured I’d give it a try.

And once I did, I saw that virtualbox-dkms was the problem. Hence I removed it.

With that said, a system update via the graphical interface has no way of communicating this problem to me while it is running in the background, which makes it hard for users to understand what has gone wrong. Plus, there should be safety fallbacks in case of a broken update.

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This might be one of the instances where it’s better to install the latest version of an app.

I use the official PPA from VirtualBox to install VB, and I haven’t had this problem (you’re not the first to complain about this, if I understand the problem correctly).

My suggestion is to uninstall VirtualBox, and then install the latest from the official VirtualBox website, which automatically adds the correct PPA for future updates. Then, reinstall the broken kernel.

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It could be Secure Boot–related. I don’t remember having this exact issue, but it has happened multiple times to me that I was forced into signing VirtualBox kernel modules manually. Also, check how many kernels you have on your system. Cleaning up old, unused kernels might decrease the chance that something goes wrong during DKMS module building.

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I think that this is unlikely. I use secure boot on both my host and my guests, and I don’t have this problem.

From reading other posts in this forum, I think that there’s some incompatibility between the older version of VirtualBox and the newer kernel. The newest version of VirtualBox seems to be fine.

1 Like
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/virtualbox/+bug/2142408

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IIRC you said you’re using the upstream package? I’ve been using the package from the regular Ubuntu 25.10 multiverse repo, and I’ve had to manually sign the kernel modules whenever VirtualBox and/or the kernel updates (I don’t remember if it happens with both).

Something isn’t or wasn’t working properly with automatic module signing for newly built modules. It worked fine on the initial installation.

BTW, I’m not implying this is the related issue here — it is just something that came to mind at the time. Anyhow, I have experienced Secure Boot–related issues with VirtualBox multiple times across different systems (24.04, 25.04, and 25.10).

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If you use any DKMS or other out-of-tree modules you have to sign them yourself if you want SecureBoot. The system doesn’t automatically sign for you, at least not out of the box.

Something isn’t or wasn’t working properly with automatic module signing for newly built modules. It worked fine on the initial installation.

Not sure what you’re referring to here…