Changes/NvidiaInstallationWithSecureboot

Nvidia Driver Installation with Secure Boot Support

Summary

Nvidia Drivers have been removed from GNOME Software because it didn't support Secure Boot which is increasingly often enabled. This change brings the option back with Secure Boot supported.

Owner

• Name: Jiří Eischmann
• Name: Milan Crha

• Email: eischmann@redhat.com
• Email: mcrha@redhat.com

Current status

• Targeted release: Fedora Linux 41
• Last updated: 2024-05-28
• Announced
• Discussion Thread
• FESCo issue:
• Tracker bug:
• Release notes tracker: <will be assigned by the Wrangler>

Detailed Description

The goal is this change is to provide an easy way to install Nvidia drivers in Fedora Workstation. It was removed from GNOME Software because the original mechanism didn't support Secure Boot. When users installed the drivers with Secure Boot enabled, they could not boot the OS. What we're doing this time is using mokutil to create a key for the user to self-sign the drivers. When installing the drivers, the user is asked to provide a password for the key. On the next reboot the user is presented with the mokutil interface to enroll the key.

Related Changes

This change will require reintroduction of the AppStream metadata for the driver packages in the Nvidia repository of RPMFusion. The metadata has been removed to not make the driver visible in GNOME Software when its installation doesn't support Secure Boot.

Benefit to Fedora

The Nvidia drivers are necessary not only for gaming, but especially for CUDA and AI/LLM workloads. The Nvidia drivers can't be part of Fedora because of their license, but Fedora should offer an easy installation of them to stay relevant in the respective fields.

Scope

• Proposal Owners:

• Other Developers:

• Release Engineering:

• Policies and Guidelines:

• Trademark approval:

• Alignment with Community Initiatives:

Upgrade/compatibility impact

No impact is expected.

User Experience

No impact is expected.