Whonix Qube restarts after being killed

@Registeron That’s fine to have your Whonix VMs connect to sys-firewall. sys-whonix is the Qubes default Whonix gateway VM. anon-whonix is the Qubes default Whonix workstation.

Default Qubes Whonix network:

anon-whonix -> sys-whonix -> sys-firewall -> sys-net

The link I posted resolves the problem of sys-whonix autostarting when a Whonix workstation VM is connected to a Whonix gateway VM other than sys-whonix.

To clarify some of the other points raised on this thread - you can use a standard AppVM workstation (based on Debian or Fedora) connected to a Whonix gateway (based on the whonix-gw template).

However, you can’t use a Whonix workstation (based on whonix-ws template) to connect to a non-whonix netVM (example a Debian or Fedora-based VPN qube or sys-firewall).

Of course, it’s generally advised to use the whonix workstation and whonix gateway VMs as a linked pair. They are built to work together and should be used with little or no modification unless you are an advanced user. That includes no additional Tor browser plugins or extensive browser tweaks (with the exception of enhanced security settings such as the “safest” setting, prioritizing onion addresses, etc).

The whonix VMs work very well “out of the box” so it’s best to get used to the default settings to maximizing anonymity and security.

I moved @Registeron’s thread into an older one talking about the same thing to make sure all relevant posts are in one place for later consumption by others.

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I am also having this issue. It started a few days ago after using the qubes update tool.

all VMs or only specific one (e.g. sys-net, sys-firewall)?

All whonix-ws-16 based appVMs besides disposables

how long did those VM run before you try to shutdown?

Any length of time, it does not matter. The issue always occurs.

how do you shut them down?

Use the upper right blue Q button, hover over the vm, and then click shutdown

what template are they based on?

whonix-ws-16 (but disposables are able to shut down)

how do you know they restart / are running?

I get a notification that the vm is shutting down, and then right away I get a notification that the vm is starting up.

are you using any testing repositories?

Security testing only.

which Qubes OS release are you using (R4.0 or R4.1)?

4.0

I saw some people have suggested that a vm could be requiring these whonix-ws-16 based vms, which is why they restart after shutdown. But that can’t be the case, because then they would be started right away. And I can run just sys-whonix, sys-firewall, and sys-net. Nothing auto starts. But when I open a whonix-ws-16 vm, I can not shut it down after. So I think that proves no other vm is using it?

I tried to find a thread on the whonix forums but couldn’t find one, does anyone know if there is already a discussion happening there in addition to here? Thanks!

I’d be concerned about using sys-firewall as the netVM, since Whonix appVMs are designed to work only with a Tor gateway as the netVM. Seems like a recipe for trouble.

Sorry I talked trash, my Whonix AppVM’s NetVM is sys-whonix.

@necker Thank you! My settings are all correct, my NetVM is sys-whonix as it should be. It was my bad.
However, I can’t see how to fix the restarting problem with the link of yours. The place that it leads to is just telling me how to create another AppVM which I have done correctly.
Sorry if I am not understanding anything right now.

@adrelanos there is some smoke here: multiple users seem to experience specifically Whonix workstation based qubes to apparently restart after shutdown. Interestingly this was only reported once R4.1 was release. Not sure there is a connection.

How do you want to go about this? I asked repeatedly to use the Whonix forums. Shall we just insist? Let us know.

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If (timely) answers and potential fixes are desired, please use Whonix forums.

Quite likely this:

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I started a whonix thread here if people want to follow:

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I began having the same issues previously as discussed here where immediately after shutdown/killing a Whonix Workstation-based AppVM or StandaloneVM, the VM would immediately be restarted. This was an issues only after performing a clean installation of Qubes 4.1 & restoring all VMs from backup.

I did some testing a few minutes ago as of writing & found the Whonix VMs which were restarting had the anon-vm tag (qvm-tags ). After removing that tag (qvm-tags del anon-vm), those Whonix VMs no longer restarting following a graceful or forced shutdown. For additional sanity, I added the anon-vm tag to a non-Whonix based AppVM (qvm-tags vault add anon-vm), but the vault AppVM didn’t restart following a shutdown.

Hopefully this contributes towards diagnosing a solution.

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There is most likely no more analysis required. This is tackled. See my previous post:
Whonix Qube restarts after being killed - #28 by adrelanos

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Same issue here. It looks pretty much like a dependency triggers the inmediate restart. But there is no dependency so there must be a mis-configuration or something. I just wanted to ad a vote that I also have the issue.

Alright hope you guys can see this post. I made this user to tell my situation.

  1. Qubes Version 4.0.
  2. VaultVM and Whonix-ws-16-dvm (non dispvm)
  3. Running time ranges from 0-2/h (+/-).
  4. Graphical and command (no success)
  5. Both based on template whonix-ws-16
  6. After attempting to shutdown, I get a notification in right corner. Qube xxx is starting.

I have a VaultVM based on whonix-ws-16 (yes wierd). No NetVM access. Just a standard Vault based on whonix.
When I boot up the qube, I cant shut it down. Neither thru graphical interface or command (kill qube). This happens also sometimes with whonix-ws-16-dvm qube.
The bigges problem here is my vault, cant shut it down. If I let’s say, shut down the vault qube around 10* times by clicking shutdown button then it wont restart if im lucky. Other then that it always restarts.
Yes I said, if I repaet the shutdown process few times around 10 ±, then the qube actually shuts down with no restart. A lot of clicking. If it happens always aroud 10th time, I do not know. But it is a struggle to shutdown the same qube 10+ times to actually shut it down. Not sure if it works always or how high you can go.
Problem started idk 3w ago?

Have a look Comprehensive.

  1. Qubes Version 4.0.
  2. VaultVM and Whonix-ws-16-dvm (non dispvm)
  3. Running time ranges from 0-2/h (+/-).
  4. Graphical and command (no success)
  5. Both based on template whonix-ws-16
  6. After attempting to shutdown, I get a notification in right corner. Qube xxx is starting.

I have a VaultVM based on whonix-ws-16 (yes wierd). No NetVM access. Just a standard Vault based on whonix.
When I boot up the qube, I cant shut it down. Neither thru graphical interface or command (kill qube). This happens also sometimes with whonix-ws-16-dvm qube.
The bigges problem here is my vault, cant shut it down. If I let’s say, shut down the vault qube around 10* times by clicking shutdown button then it wont restart if im lucky. Other then that it always restarts.
Yes I said, if I repaet the shutdown process few times around 10 ±, then the qube actually shuts down with no restart. A lot of clicking. If it happens always aroud 10th time, I do not know. But it is a struggle to shutdown the same qube 10+ times to actually shut it down. Not sure if it works always or how high you can go.
Problem started idk 3w ago?

My bad

There is most likely no more analysis required. This is tackled. See my previous post:
Whonix Qube restarts after being killed - #28 by adrelanos

Won’t be fixed. Related:

1 Like

I’ve had this same issue with a Keepassxc vault VM based on whonix-ws-16 (not network connected).

I’ve had it happen with some others but didn’t take specific notice, i’ll pay more attention next time. It’s possibly happening at the same time I shut down a disposable whonix tor vm, so maybe there is a correlation?

Same issue for me, I’m on 4.1

According to this redditor https://www.reddit.com/r/Qubes/comments/sttorm/comment/hxtt5en/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3

it was answered here https://www.reddit.com/r/Qubes/comments/sttorm/comment/hxmefo0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3 . It happens because sys-whonix trys to update the time in those VMs and therefore restarts them.

This has apparently already been fixed and should arrive on your systems via an update (soon)

1 Like