[GUIDE] Re-locking the bootloader on the OnePlus 6t with a self-signed build of LOS

[WhitbyGreg]

What is this tutorial?
This tutorial will:

• Creating an unofficial build of LineageOS 17.1 suitable for using to re-lock the bootloader on a OnePlus 6/6t
• Take you through the process of re-locking your bootloader after installing the above

This tutorial will NOT:

• Remove *all* warning messages during boot (the yellow "Custom OS" message will be present though the orange "Unlocked bootloader" message will not)
• Allow you to use official builds of LineageOS 17.1 on your device with a re-locked bootloader (more details near the end of the tutorial)

This tutorial will assume you are working on an Ubuntu 18.04 installation, if you are using Windows or another Linux distro, the commands may be different.

Supported devices:
Current both the OnePlus 6 (enchilada) and 6t (fajita) have been tested, but newer phones should work as well.

For simplicities sake, all further references will only be to the 6t (fajita).

Pre-requisites:

• a mid level knowledge of terminal commands and features
• a supported phone
• a PC with enough CPU/RAM to build LineageOS 17.1 (recommended 8 cores, 24g of RAM)
• a working USB cable
• fastboot/adb installed and functional
• LineageOS 17.1 source code downloaded
• at least one successful build of LineageOS
• at least one successful signing of your build with your own keys

Misc. notes:

• the basics of building/signing of LineageOS is outside the scope of this tutorial, refer to the LineageOS Wiki for details on how to complete these tasks
• you'll be modifying some code in LineageOS, so if you are not comfortable using basic editing utilities as well as patch, do not proceed any further
• the path to your LineageOS source code is going to be assumed to be ~/android/lineageos, if it is somewhere else, substitute the correct path in the tutorial
• the path to your private certificate files is going to be assumed to be ~/android-certs, if it is somewhere else, substitute the correct path in the tutorial

*** WARNING ****
This process may brick your device. Do not proceed unless you are comfortable taking this risk.


*** WARNING ****
This process will delete all data on your phone! Do not proceed unless you have backed up your data!


*** WARNING ****
Make sure you have read through this entire process at least once before attempting, if you are uncomfortable with any steps include in this guide, do not continue.


And now on with the show!

Step 1: Basic setup

You need a few places to store things, so create some working directories:

mkdir ~/android/fajita
mkdir ~/android/fajita/oos
mkdir ~/android/fajita/images
mkdir ~/android/fajita/images_raw
mkdir ~/android/fajita/patches
mkdir ~/android/fajita/pkmd

You also need to add "~/android/lineageos/out/host/linux-x86/bin" to your shell's profile path. Make sure to close and restart your session afterwards otherwise the signing will fail later on with a "file not found" error message .

Step 2: Download the latest OxygenOS from OnePlus

Go to https://www.oneplus.com/support/softwareupgrade and download the latest OOS update, store it in ~/android/fajita/oos

Step 3: Extract the vendor.img from OOS

Run the following commands to extract the vendor.img from OOS:

cd ~/android/fajita/oos
unzip [oos file name you downloaded] payload.bin
cd ../images_raw
python ~/android/lineageos/lineage/scripts/update-payload-extractor/extract.py --partitions vendor --output_dir . ../oos/payload.bin

You should now have a ~1g file named vendor.img in the images_raw directory.

Step 4: Update fajita's BoardConfig.mk

You will need to add a few parameters to the end of ~/android/lineageos/device/oneplus/fajita/BoardConfig.mk, they are:

BOARD_PREBUILT_VENDORIMAGE := /home/<userid>/android/fajita/images_raw/vendor.img
AB_OTA_PARTITIONS += vendor
BOARD_AVB_ALGORITHM := SHA256_RSA2048
BOARD_AVB_KEY_PATH := /home/<userid>/.android-certs/releasekey.key

Note you cannot use "~"" in the path names above to signify your home directory, so give the full absolute path to make sure the files are found.

Step 5: Update sdm845-common's BoardConfigCommon.mk (optional)

LineageOS by default disables Android Verified Boot's partition verification, but you can enable it now as all the required parts will be in place. However, you may not want to if you intend to make other changes to the system/boot/vendor partitions (like Magisk, etc.) after you have re-locked the bootloader.

To enable partition verification do the following:

cd ~/android/lineageos/devices/sdm845-common
sed -i 's/^BOARD_AVB_MAKE_VBMETA_IMAGE_ARGS += --flag 2/#BOARD_AVB_MAKE_VBMETA_IMAGE_ARGS += --flag 2/' BoardConfigCommon.mk

Step 6: Patch the AOSP/LineageOS releasetools

Two releasetools included with LineageOS need to be patched as they otherwise will not properly process a pre-built vendor.img.

The required patches can be found here:

• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/W.../source/add_img_to_target_files.py-17.1.patch
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/W...r/source/sign_target_files_apks.py-17.1.patch

Download both and store in ~/android/fajita/patches.

Now apply them with the following commands:

cd ~/android/lineageos/build/tools/releasetools
patch add_image_to_target_files.py ~/android/fajita/patches/add_image_to_target_files.py-17.1.patch
patch sign_target_files_apks.py ~/android/fajita/patches/sign_target_files_apks.py-17.1.patch

Step 7: Build LineageOS

You are now ready to build:

cd ~/android/lineageos
source build/envsetup.sh
croot
breakfast fajita
mka target-files-package otatools

Step 8: Prepare vendor.img

As part of the build process above, your raw vendor.img will been copied to the $OUT directory and a new hashtree (what AVB uses to verify the image) will have been added to it.

You need to use this new version in the signing process but due to how the build system works, this is not done by default.

So, let's put it where it is needed:

cp $OUT/obj/PACKAGING/target_files_intermediates/lineage_fajita-target_files-eng.*/IMAGES/vendor.img ~/android/fajita/images

Step 9: Sign the APKs

You are now ready to sign the apks with sign_target_files_apks:

./build/tools/releasetools/sign_target_files_apks -o -d ~/.android-certs --prebuilts_path ~/android/fajita/images $OUT/obj/PACKAGING/target_files_intermediates/*-target_files-*.zip signed-target_files.zip

Note the new "--prebuilts_path" option, which points to where your new vendor.img file is located.

Step 10: Build the OTA

Now it is time to complete the OTA package:

./build/tools/releasetools/ota_from_target_files -k ~/.android-certs/releasekey --block signed-target_files.zip lineage-17.1-[date]-UNOFFICIAL-fajita-signed.zip

Note, replace [date] with today's date in YYYYMMDD format.

Step 11: Create pkmd.bin for your phone

Before you can lock your phone, you have to tell it what your public key is so it knows it can trust your build.

To do this you need to create a pkmd.bin file:

~/android/lineageos/external/avb/avbtool extract_public_key --key ~/.android-certs/releasekey.key --output ~/android/fajita/pkmd/pkmd.bin

Step 12: Flashing your LineageOS build

It's time to flash your build to your phone. The following steps assume you have already unlocked your phone and have flashed an official version of LineageOS to it. You don't need to have flashed LineageOS yet, you could use TWRP through "fastboot boot" if you prefer.

• Reboot your phone in to recovery mode
• In LineageOS Recovery select "Apply update"
• From your PC, run:

adb sideload ~/android/lineageos/lineage-17.1-[date]-UNOFFICIAL-fajita-signed.zip

When the sideload is complete, reboot in to LineageOS. Make sure everything looks good with your build.

You may also need to format your data partition at this time depending on what you had installed on your phone previously.

Step 13: Flashing your signing key

Now it's time to add your signing key to the Android Verified Boot process. To do so, do the following:

• Reboot your phone in to fastboot mode
• From your PC, run:

fastboot flash avb_custom_key ~/android/fajita/pkmd/pkmd.bin
fastboot reboot bootloader
fastboot oem lock

• On your phone, confirm you want to re-lock and it will reboot

Your phone will then factory reset and then reboot in to LineageOS.

Which of course means you have to go through the first time setup wizard, so do so now.

Step 14: Disable OEM unlock

Congratulations! Your boot loader is now locked, but you can still unlock it again using fastboot, so it's time to disable that as well.

• Unlock you phone and go to Settings->About phone
• Scroll to the bottom and find "Build number"
• Tap on it you enable the developer options
• Go to Settings->System->Advanced->Developer options
• Disable the "OEM unlocking" slider
• Reboot

Step 15: Profit!


Other things

• The above will build a standard USERDEBUG version of LineageOS, however this will still allow LineageOS Recovery to sideload non-signed files. If you have implemented step 5 above, then this protects your system/vendor/boot/dtbo partitions, but none of the others. Likewise USERDEBUG builds will allow for rolling back to a previous version. To increase security and disallow both of these scenarios you may want to build a USER version of LineageOS to install. However this brings in other issues, such as flashing newer firmware from OnePlus so make sure you understand the implications of both choices. For more details on build types, see https://source.android.com/setup/develop/new-device#build-variants.
• In the above example the releasekey from your LineageOS install has been used to sign AVB, but AVB supports other key strengths up to SHA512_RSA8192. You could create a key just for signing AVB that used different options than the default keys generated to sign LineageOS.
• If you want to remove you signing key from your phone, you can do it by running "fastboot erase avb_custom_key".
• The changes you made to the make files and releasetools may conflict with future updates that you pull from LineageOS through repo sync, if you have to reset the files to get repo sync to complete successfully, you'll have to reapply the changes afterwards.

So why can't I do this with official LineageOS builds?

For Android Verified Boot (AVB) to work, it must have the hash values for each of the system/vendor/boot/dtbo partitions stored in vbmeta. Official LineageOS builds do not include the vendor.img in them (for fajita at least, other phones may), instead simply using the existing partition on the phone.

That means that there is no vendor.img information in vbmeta for the official builds, which means AVB will fail to verify it during boot and give the red corruption message and halt the boot process after you have re-locked the bootloader.

And since you cannot add to vbmeta without the LineageOS private key, which only the LineageOS signing server has, you cannot add it.

This means you must do a full build with new signing keys to make it work.

Theoretically you could pick apart a LineageOS release, rehash the system/vendor/boot/dtbo and then recreate vbmeta and the payload.bin file, but that brings a host of other issues. For example, since such a "build" would look like a full LinageOS release, if you ever accidentally let the updater run it would brick (soft) that slot and you'd have swap back to your other slot to boot again. In an extreme case, if you managed to corrupt the second slot somehow you'd have to wipe your entire and recover from the brick with one of the available tools to do so.

Ok, what messages do I see during the boot process then?

During a boot you will of course see the standard OnePlus power up screen, followed by the yellow "custom os" message an then the stardard LineageOS boot animation.

For more details on AVB boot messages, see https://source.android.com/security/verifiedboot/boot-flow

So what do those two patches to the release tools do?

AOSP/LineageOS's add_image_to_target_files.py detects if a vendor.img file already exists, and if so, simply includes it in the build process. The patch adds one extra step, so that AVB is being enabled for the build, it will replace the existing hashtree on vendor.img using the same salt and other options as will be used on system/boot/dtbo. This ensure that when vbmeta is generated, it has the right information from vendor.img.

The script is called from the make system as part of the "mka target-files-package otatools" and the appropriate parameters from the make system, like "BOARD_PREBUILT_VENDORIMAGE", are used to create arguments to the script to build the standard image files as well as include the prebuilt vendor.img.

This script is used both during the initial build as well as the signing process, but this change is only targeted at the build time implementation. During signing, the script uses whatever hashtrees are in place and does not regenerate them.

AOSP/LineageOS's sign_target_files_apks.py is responsible for signing the APKs that have been built as part of "mka target-files-package otatools", unfortunately it is not part of the "make" system, so settings like "BOARD_PREBUILT_VENDORIMAGE" do not impact the script. This means that sign_target_files_apks.py does not have any knowledge that it should be including a pre-built vendor.img, even though it is in the $OUT directory waiting to be used.

The patch adds a new parameter to the script (--prebuilts_path), so that during the signing process, any image files found in the provided path, will be included in the process. So make sure that only vendor.img is in the provided directory. This is a directory instead of a single file as future uses may be to include things like firmware, other partition types, etc. in to the signing process.

Thank you's

• Obviously to all of the members of the LineageOS team!
• LuK1337 for supporting fajita
• optimumpro for the OnePlus 5/5t re-locking guide (https://forum.xda-developers.com/oneplus-5/how-to/guide-relock-bootloader-custom-rom-t3849299) which inspired this one
• Quark.23 for helping with the process and testing on enchilada

 

[jsidney96]

Nice , Will this enable widewine L1?

 

[WhitbyGreg]

Nice , Will this enable widewine L1?

I don't believe there is a connection between the two.

 

[cowgaR]

I don't believe there is a connection between the two.

If you unlock bootloader on phones supporting L1 they drop to L3. I know some Oneplus phones (op6 etc.) did not support L1 even on stock.

 

[arvindgr]

If you unlock bootloader on phones supporting L1 they drop to L3. I know some Oneplus phones (op6 etc.) did not support L1 even on stock.

Yeah.. It brings it to L1

Great writeup @WhitbyGreg
As Android security gets tighter and tighter, hoping one day all ROMs would support AVB by default..

---------- Post added at 06:16 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:48 PM ----------

Curious question here,

*** will build a standard USERDEBUG version of LineageOS, however this will still allow LineageOS Recovery to sideload non-signed files. If you have implemented step 5 above, then this protects your system/vendor/boot/dtbo partitions, but none of the others. Likewise USERDEBUG builds will allow for rolling back to a previous version. To increase security and disallow both of these scenarios you may want to build a USER version of LineageOS to install. However this brings in other issues, such as flashing newer firmware from OnePlus so make sure you understand the implications of both choices***

After a launch of any phone, how drastic are such firmware updates to bother about? In other words, Unless we're in stock ROM is it mandatory to update phone firmware?

 

[WhitbyGreg]

Yeah.. It brings it to L1

Good to know.

Great writeup @WhitbyGreg
As Android security gets tighter and tighter, hoping one day all ROMs would support AVB by default..

That would be nice but more importantly, more phones need to support re-locking.

Curious question here,

After a launch of any phone, how drastic are such firmware updates to bother about? In other words, Unless we're in stock ROM is it mandatory to update phone firmware?

Reasonably important, after all, if you never get firmware updates you'll have outdated security patching for the firmware. Some official LOS builds require newer versions of the firmware as they are released and won't install without it.

 

[Geofferey]

This guide was very helpful to me when re-locking my Oneplus 7T and enabling hash/hashtree verification. A dude on telegram had actually sent me the link and I only briefly skimmed over. Ironically when looking for patches to fix my issues after attempting to include pre-built vendor/odm and failing I cross referenced and ended up back here.

Here's where I originally found them:
https://review.lineageos.org/c/LineageOS/android_build/+/278015
https://review.aosip.dev/c/AOSIP/platform_build/+/13385

I myself have made some more patches to ensure every possible pre-built image gets signed on my builds. After some experimentation I have found it possible to have Magisk with hash verification enabled

https://github.com/Geofferey/omni_android_build/commits/geofferey/android-10

There is also a fix to ensure appropriate args get passed when regenerating hashtree for pre-built vendor.

 

[WhitbyGreg]

This guide was very helpful to me when re-locking my Oneplus 7T and enabling hash/hashtree verification.

So you can confirm you have relocked the bootloader on the 7T with AVB enabled?

A dude on telegram had actually sent me the link and I only briefly skimmed over. Ironically when looking for patches to fix my issues after attempting to include pre-built vendor/odm and failing I cross referenced and ended up back here.

Here's where I originally found them:
https://review.lineageos.org/c/LineageOS/android_build/+/278015
https://review.aosip.dev/c/AOSIP/platform_build/+/13385

Yes, those are my patches that I've submitted to LOS, I also have two other patches submitted to allow for other prebuilt images (aka firmware images) to be included in the build process.

I myself have made some more patches to ensure every possible pre-built image gets signed on my builds. After some experimentation I have found it possible to have Magisk with hash verification enabled

https://github.com/Geofferey/omni_android_build/commits/geofferey/android-10


There is also a fix to ensure appropriate args get passed when regenerating hashtree for pre-built vendor.

I'll take a look and see if I need to update any of my submissions, thanks.

 

[Geofferey]

I will have to update those commits with you as author. I messed that up and set person who picked yours as author. I am sorry. BTW thank you for those patches they were a lifesaver and inspired me.

Yes, I can confirm re-lock with AVB enabled on 7T works and also with hash verification. If I flash an image not signed by the build process with hash verification enabled I go red. Currently I am working on getting magisk directly integrated with build instead of using prebuilt patched imgs that cause builds to not pass CTS.

 

[quark23]

Currently I am working on getting magisk directly integrated with build instead of using prebuilt patched imgs that cause builds to not pass CTS.

Why do you want to put Magisk if you went to all the trouble of having avb with a locked bootloader? Isn't rooting defeating the purpose of avb?

 

[Geofferey]

Why do you want to put Magisk if you went to all the trouble of having avb with a locked bootloader? Isn't rooting defeating the purpose of avb?

No, it does not defeat the purpose... Hashtree verification will still happen since root can be included in the build as opposed to flashing after the fact. In a way it's actually even more advised. The way I think, having root may lead to a means of being exploited but true AVB closes the door to any persistent rootkits that may try to modify partitions at block level. If ANYTHING modifies the verified partitions phone will refuse to boot and I will be protected. Doing exactly what AVB is supposed to do, verify the phone is in it's intended state. I also think of phone as a computer, you have root access on Linux, Windows and even Mac for Christ sake, why shouldn't it be the same for phones? The ONLY reason we don't by default is so manufacturers and carriers can stay in control. I've been rooting and modifying phones for years without AVB and yet to have a known breech of my data besides the Google apps constantly collecting on me. This just adds another level of security that I used to sacrifice in order to have root access.

Here is my PoC to include Magisk in builds so dm-verity can be kept enabled. Just two commits. If someone could make this better that would be really cool.
https://github.com/Geofferey/omni_android_build/commit/d60958780e6b26d7cb0cec5939b82df3df74a68f
https://github.com/Geofferey/android_vendor_magisk

 

[quark23]

I have rooted for testing and you don't gen any warning. The way avb works on my phone is it discards any modification after reboot. With no warning at boot time. If you get hacked, you can have persistent hacks with root. Make a modification from twrp with avb enabled and see for yourself.
You break the Android security model by rooting the phone. If you need certain things you can include them at build time, such as a custom hosts file.
Also, what can you do with root that does not alter the hashtree?
The power you mention is of no real use yet you expose yourself by having it. Sure, you can go by without any issues. The problem is if you happen to get hacked, the attacker has full control over your phone. You won't br able to get rid of it by rebooting.
Also I see no way for google to collect data in this setup, with or without root. Afwall has an equivalent in android 10 (that mobile data & wifi setting) and inter process comms are the real issue if you are worried about rogue apps. Afwall leaks dns requests like crazy anyway.
I say you are better off letting root go and include what you need at build time. I see that as better spent effort than trying to add root.

 

[Geofferey]

I have rooted for testing and you don't gen any warning. The way avb works on my phone is it discards any modification after reboot. With no warning at boot time. If you get hacked, you can have persistent hacks with root. Make a modification from twrp with avb enabled and see for yourself.

So you built your ROM from source with root included, had TWRP go through signing and was able to modify system and other partitions without receiving a device corrupt message? I highly doubt AVB is even implemented appropriately if you were able to do so. If it is implemented it sounds like the old version, tho I remember if I violated FS too much it wouldn't be able to fix and failed to boot. Having a locked bootloader because AVB is enabled does not mean dm-verity is enabled. Also, it should be nearly impossible to just write things like files to /system or w.e. if you are on a device that ships with 10.

You break the Android security model by rooting the phone. If you need certain things you can include them at build time, such as a custom hosts file.

I know it does, but I am not doing such small things as modifying a host file. The kinds of things I include in my personal ROMs require such a high level of access to the point where I can not write SE polices that will allow me to pass CTS and spit out user builds without serious modifications to the build env.

Also, what can you do with root that does not alter the hashtree?
The power you mention is of no real use yet you expose yourself by having it. Sure, you can go by without any issues. The problem is if you happen to get hacked, the attacker has full control over your phone. You won't b able to get rid of it by rebooting.

The act of flashing Magisk is what breaks AVB, if you include it in the ROM at build time like I am doing then it doesn't need to be flashed. It makes modifications to the system by binding data from the wipeable data partition to /system/. If something utilizes that to install a backdoor or tunnel it goes bye-bye when I wipe. If something utilizes it to flash anything or modify system device no boot.

Also I see no way for google to collect data in this setup, with or without root. Afwall has an equivalent in android 10 (that mobile data & wifi setting) and inter process comms are the real issue if you are worried about rogue apps. Afwall leaks dns requests like crazy anyway.

You're kidding right? Android solely exist as a mean for Google to collect data. That was the whole idea behind Android. Buy & develop an OS that any manufacturer can put on their device, let them certify for Google Play Services and collect the data that powers their ad platform. They certainly didn't opensource their baby for free. If you allow ports 80 and 443 out with inbound related allowed, that's all they need.

I say you are better off letting root go and include what you need at build time. I see that as better spent effort than trying to add root.

I'd just rather the manufactures and Google would implement a root solution that plays nice with Androids security instead of making us resort to violating it. It's funny to me that we find it acceptable for these fools to maintain control of something you purchased with your hard earned dollars because they think we are too stupid to have it. Like I stated root and admin privileges are fully available to us on nearly any PC but phones for some reason are an exception.

_________________________________________________

I could rant and debate about this forever... Fact of matter is, you don't have to disable every Android security feature to have root.

 

[quark23]

I didn't build with magisk, I just flashed after building.
But you can try and modify anything on /system or /vendor from twrp, without magisk, without locking the bootloader, and see what happens. Avb discards the modification, but doesn't warn you. Curious of your findings regarding this. If you then flash magisk, you ofc break the hashtree and avb and the mods remain persistent.

I understand that you are building with magisk included in the hashtree. What I am wondering is what exactly are you wanting root for? What are you doing with root that does not break the hashtree?

Regarding the data collection, you lost me. What exactly is being collected on a LOS userbuild without google services? Got any dns logs or mitm wireshark packets to show? What service exactly is collecting what kind of data? Google's dns servers can be replaced before building, Greg has some scripts for that. Captive portal can also be replaced or turned off. Apart from that, and any apps you add yourself, what kind of data is being collected as I want to check it out myself. I've monitored my phone and it's pretty silent. Whatever goes out is from additional apps I use. But I don't see anything from LOS. Really curious about this.

Regarding your last point I think it's something akin to risking shooting yourself in the foot by having root by default. I understand (somewhat) the security model and I find it smart to not have it by default. Also Android uses selinux more than your standard linux distro does. There are some differences in the security models between android and pc linux distro.

I'm really hapoy that AOSP exists. Also pretty happy with the LOS project. My problem is with the outdated blobs. Maybe I'll get a Pixel at some point and give GrapheneOS a go. Seems like a really nice project.
Managed to get hardened malloc + Vanadium on LOS atm and I'm liking the browser. Overall I think AOSP is a great project. Not a fan of google's privacy policy but they do make great stuff.

 

[Geofferey]

I understand that you are building with Magisk included in the hashtree. What I am wondering is what exactly are you wanting root for? What are you doing with root that does not break the hashtree?

Ah, there lies the real question. I am including in my personal builds a Debian Linux chroot that gets extracted to /data/ so I can run Linux services, etc. I have customized the chroot with Openvpn so that it connects to my server and essentially allows me back into device wherever it may lay. Basically I am adding in the stuff of nightmares that all this security is supposed to prevent. That is why I want dm-verity, because I know I am leaving my self partially open by doing so. I have a decent understanding of dm-verity and have confirmed that it does and will protect me against the scenarios I imagine. BTW it operates completely differently in locked state vs. unlocked.

Regarding the data collection, you lost me. What exactly is being collected on a LOS userbuild without google services?

Well, if you're the type of person who doesn't require Google Play Services, nothing of course. I was merely stating that Google had open sourced Android in hopes that manufacturers would adopt the OS and qualify their devices for Google PS so that it could be used as a data collection platform. You won't easily see all the information Google collects in a Wireshark log because it is encrypted of course. LOS better be silent as hell without it or I'd contact that dev with a strongly worded message lmfao.

Regarding your last point I think it's something akin to risking shooting yourself in the foot by having root by default. I understand (somewhat) the security model and I find it smart to not have it by default. Also Android uses selinux more than your standard linux distro does. There are some differences in the security models between android and pc linux distro.

Oh I DO NOT think it should just be enabled by default. If I had my way it would be enabled in dev ops requiring authentication and protected via a different password than the one you use to unlock the device once setup. You'd also require those "root" privileges to OEM unlock once enabled. While those features were enabled you'd be warned on boot as well but without locking you out of apps etc because that kind of sensitive data should be handled by TEE and TZ. In a real Linux operating system that hasn't been fundamentally raped to offer a false sense of security in the name of protecting carriers and manufactures you can modify SE linux policies etc, not while live but without compiling from source. A lot of us forget most these security features exist more to protect their interest and attempt to hide what's going on behind the scenes. I've actually heard of some pretty shady stories where manufacturers in China place ad-tappers that run in background on devices running GooglePS to be sold in US, so it definitely doesn't protect you if the person building your phone is shade.

I'm really hapy that AOSP exists. Also pretty happy with the LOS project. My problem is with the outdated blobs. Maybe I'll get a Pixel at some point and give GrapheneOS a go. Seems like a really nice project.
Managed to get hardened malloc + Vanadium on LOS atm and I'm liking the browser. Overall I think AOSP is a great project. Not a fan of google's privacy policy but they do make great stuff.

Me too mate. . AOSP has taught me a lot about development and coding in general. Sadly outdated blobs are a usually a by-product of using pre-builts from manufacturers that don't update as often. Pixel would be way to go if that's a concern. I honestly just think a lot of the security is abused to suit their needs. I am just trying to turn it around to work for me where it can.

 

[quark23]

If you repo sync you should run the vendor files script as there's a couple of new files added. The Muppets github has been updated with them as well. If you don't your build will fail at first power on.

 

[nictabor]

A quick question, forgive me if this is obvious: am I correct in assuming that one the above has been completed and the device is using a locally-built copy of Lineage OS, that I cannot take advantage of OTA updates? I just want to know what I'm getting in to before wiping my phone multiple times.

Thanks in advance, this thread is massively helpful.

 

[WhitbyGreg]

A quick question, forgive me if this is obvious: am I correct in assuming that one the above has been completed and the device is using a locally-built copy of Lineage OS, that I cannot take advantage of OTA updates? I just want to know what I'm getting in to before wiping my phone multiple times.

Thanks in advance, this thread is massively helpful.

Correct, though if you setup your own update server you can still use the inbuilt updater app if you want.

 

[klabit87]

I just happened across this thread searching for a proper way to generate the custom avb key. I thought i had found it at one time on aosp documentation but i lost/forgot where it was.
Anyways, I have a quick q about this. Would I be correct in assuming that if i wanted gapps to be available in my build, I would need to include it during build time and not be able to flash it as per the typical methods?
I am pretty sure I won't be able to but wanted to ask here for you guys' experiences.

Also, @WhitbyGreg you should be able to i believe. just setup the url properly and host it somewhere with direct download links. (This also requires setup of json for the updater to monitor for updates)

 

[WhitbyGreg]

Would I be correct in assuming that if i wanted gapps to be available in my build, I would need to include it during build time and not be able to flash it as per the typical methods?

Correct (at least as far as I know), once the bootloader is relocked any modification of the system partition (like adding the play services) would trigger an AVB failure.