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GitBox fails to start on Ubuntu 24.04 due to OpenSSL 3 incompatibility (undefined symbol: EVP_des_ede3_cbc) #1
Description
Environment
- OS: Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS
- OpenSSL: OpenSSL 3.0.13
- GitBox version: <coloque a versão>
- Architecture: x86_64
Problem
After updating to Ubuntu 24.04, GitBox fails to start.
Error:
A JavaScript error occurred in the main process
Error: .../gitbox_addon.node: undefined symbol: EVP_des_ede3_cbc
The native addon appears to require the OpenSSL 1.1 symbol EVP_des_ede3_cbc, which is no longer available by default in OpenSSL 3.
Investigation
The symbol is required by the native addon:
nm -D gitbox_addon.node | grep EVP_des_ede3_cbc
U EVP_des_ede3_cbc
The binary does not declare a dependency on libcrypto:
readelf -d gitbox_addon.node | grep NEEDED
Output only contains:
libstdc++.so.6
libgcc_s.so.1
libc.so.6
Workaround
The application starts when forcing OpenSSL 1.1:
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libcrypto.so.1.1 gitbox
Expected behavior
GitBox should run on modern Linux distributions without requiring OpenSSL 1.1 compatibility libraries.
Possible fix
Rebuild gitbox-addon against OpenSSL 3 / update native dependencies.
Activity
gitgusilva commentedon Jul 28, 2026
Diagnosed — thanks, your
nm/readelfoutput pointed straight at it.binding.gyplinked libssh2 (added in v1.1.4 for SSH remotes) but not the staticlibcrypto.athat the build script produces for it, so ~97 OpenSSL symbols were left for the host process to provide. Plainnodeexports the OpenSSL it links statically, so it worked in development; Electron ships BoringSSL and has noEVP_des_ede3_cbc, so the packaged app only survived on machines that already had a compatible libcrypto mapped into the process. YourLD_PRELOADwas doing exactly that.Fix in #2, plus a CI check that audits the addon's imported symbols so this can't ship again. I'll ping you when v1.1.7 is out — a confirmation on 24.04 would be very welcome.
gitgusilva commentedon Jul 28, 2026
v1.1.7 is out: https://github.com/gitgusilva/gitbox/releases/tag/v1.1.7
The vendored static
libcrypto.ais now linked into the addon, so it no longer reaches into the host process forEVP_*. The shared-library set and the glibc floor are unchanged, so it should stay as portable as before. CI also builds the addon and audits its imported symbols before packaging now — reading what the binary imports rather than just loading it, since on a host with a system libcrypto the broken build loads fine.Linux downloads are on the release page: AppImage,
.deb,.rpmand.pacman. Since v1.1.6 will not start for you at all, the in-app updater is not an option — grab the installer directly.If you get a chance to try it on 24.04, a confirmation would be very welcome. And thanks again for the
nm/readelfoutput and theLD_PRELOADnote — that is what made it a short hunt.fix(addon): link the vendored static libcrypto for libssh2
docs: lead the README with the app, not the badges