Drop default y from CONFIG_EFI_GRUB_ARM32_WORKAROUND?

[Mark Kettenis]

> Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2026 14:47:30 +0100
> From: Jan Kiszka <jan.kiszka at siemens.com>

Hi Jan,

> Hi,
> 
> it seems that some kernel configs can cause problems with the
> CONFIG_EFI_GRUB_ARM32_WORKAROUND. Namely, 6.1-cip and 5.10-cip with its
> current defconfigs [1] no longer boot on the BeagleBone Black (other
> boards still need validation), both with the more recommendable
> systemd-boot and grub. I do not have the motivation to debug the reason
> in the kernel / its config, given that everything works fine once the
> firmware behaves according to the UEFI spec.
> 
> Meanwhile, grub reached 2.12 now which is far away from the old, broken
> version of 2019. So, should we rather make this workaround opt-in in 2026?

This isn't just about GRUB though.  There is also the issue with the
the non-architected caches that are typically found on systems that
use Cortex-A9 cores such as i.MX6.

The OpenBSD bootloader used to have the same problem as those older
versions of GRUB.  I fixed that back in 2019, and there shouldn't be
any users left with a broken version.

> [1]
> https://gitlab.com/cip-project/cip-kernel/cip-kernel-config/-/blob/cda3f5841dec33b81f24cedcc32ea09bb58bbfb5/6.1.y-cip/arm/cip_merged_defconfig
> 
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> Siemens AG, Foundational Technologies
> Linux Expert Center
> 
>