A single character typo prevents a large number of Chrome OS devices from logging in
Google messed up all those Chromebooks yesterday because of a single typo
https://www.androidpolice.com/2021/07/20/a-new-chrome-os-91-update-is-breaking-chromebooks-like-a-bull-in-a-china-shop/
Google pushed a one-character typo to production, bricking Chrome OS devices | Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2021/07/google-pushed-a-one-character-typo-to-production-bricking-chrome-os-devices/
Chrome OS releases full OS updates every few weeks, as well as frequent updates related to bug fixes and security improvements. Chrome OS users who have enabled the automatic update function will be able to keep the latest functions and security at all times by automatically updating the OS when the latest version becomes available.
However, many users can be hurt by being automatically updated to the problematic version of Chrome OS. In fact, when Google released Chrome OS 'version 91.0.4472.147' at the end of June 2021, some updated models had excessively high CPU usage, causing serious performance degradation. did.
This CPU usage issue was resolved by Google rolling back to the previous version and releasing a fixed 'version 91.0.4472.147', but the later released 'version 91.0.4472.165' is also new. Problem has occurred. In this version, many users who have updated Chrome OS have reported that they can not log in even if they enter the password, or they get stuck in a boot loop (reboot loop). ..
Some people who faced the problem of not being able to log in to their Chromebooks either ran a Power wash to restore the device to its factory state or used a recovery USB to fix the problem. However, some users have lost important files due to this operation, and it is said that a lot of damage has occurred.
by Luis Roca
Regarding the reason why you can not log in to the Chrome OS device updated to 'version 91.0.4472.165', a user named elitist_ferret of the overseas bulletin board Reddit points out that 'only one character typo' is the cause.
When elitist_ferret checked the code of the open source Chrome OS, he said that there was the following if statement code.
if (key_data_.has_value() & !key_data_->label().empty()) {
However, the code that should actually be written is below, and the above code has one less '&' after the 'value ()' than the correct one. It is believed that this single-character typo prevented Chrome OS from properly decrypting the login information.
if (key_data_.has_value() && !key_data_->label().empty()) {
On July 21, 2021, Google released 'Version 91.0.4772.167', which resolves the issue of 'Version 91.0.4472.165', allowing users to log in to Chrome OS by applying the update. However, tech media Ars Technica pointed out that a seriously problematic update like this one that passed the test and was distributed to a large number of users would have a negative impact on Chrome OS.
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