NovaCustom NV4x 12th Gen Dasharo (coreboot + heads) Release Notes¶
This is a Dasharo Pro Package Release. To access the pre-built binaries, you need to subscribe to the Dasharo Pro Package subscriber. You can do this by purchasing a Dasharo Pro Package product from our shop.
As a subscriber, you will receive access to all firmware updates for the duration of your subscription via the Dasharo Pro Package newsletter, and gain entry to the Dasharo Premier Support invite-only live chat on the Matrix network, enabling direct engagement with the Dasharo Team and fellow subscribers for personalized, priority assistance.
Following Release Notes describe status of development of Dasharo (coreboot + Heads) firmware for NovaCustom NV4x 12th Gen.
For details about our release process please read Dasharo Standard Release Process.
v0.9.3 - 2026-05-11¶
Test results for this release can be found here.
Added¶
- Added Dasharo EC module to Heads, enabling embedded controller firmware management from within the firmware
- Added EC firmware version display in System Information menu and recovery shell
- Added integrity gate for TPM reseal and factory reset paths; confirms /boot integrity before allowing secret-sealing or re-ownership
- Added disk and TPM swap detection with guided user recovery flow
- Added TOTP display before prompting for TPM Disk Unlock Key passphrase
Changed¶
- Switched nv4x_adl coreboot build to Intel IoT FSP (from Client FSP), fixing S3 suspend wake failures and improving Thunderbolt USB fallback detection
- Updated Intel microcode to the February 2026 release
- Improved Nitrokey 3 (NK3) device-specific branding and PIN labels throughout the user interface
Fixed¶
- Qubes OS fails to reboot after S3 suspend on NV41PZ
- ACPI Error in dmesg after lid close and open during s0ix sleep cycle (GPE 6B event had no ACPI handler)
- Some commands in dasharo_ectool failed due to outdated EC protocol (system76 EC replaced with Dasharo EC)
- TOTP display loop did not flush keyboard input before waiting for ESC key, causing stale input to skip the prompt
- HOTP counter incorrectly reset to 0 during OEM factory reset and device re-ownership
- Disk size incorrectly reported for drives larger than 2 TB (replaced fdisk -l with sysfs-based enumeration)
- Archlinux and Tails distro signing keys contained expired subkeys, causing ISO verification failures in the field
Known issues¶
- Existing Qubes installation is not found as bootable after transition back to EDK2
- Confusing UX when updating heads firmware
Binaries¶
sha256 sha256.sig sha256 sha256.sig
This is a Dasharo Pro Package Release. To access the pre-built binaries, you need to subscribe to the Dasharo Pro Package subscriber. You can do this by purchasing a Dasharo Pro Package product from our shop. As a subscriber, you will receive access to all firmware updates for the duration of your subscription via the Dasharo Pro Package newsletter, and gain entry to the Dasharo Premier Support invite-only live chat on the Matrix network, enabling direct engagement with the Dasharo Team and fellow subscribers for personalized, priority assistance.
To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key
SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)¶
- Dasharo heads fork based on v0.2.1 revision 1c4948f6
- Dasharo fork of System76 EC based on d198b64 revision d198b641
- Dasharo coreboot fork based on 24.12 revision 281a7fec
- Intel Management Engine version v16.1.40.2765
- Intel Flash Descriptor version v1.1
- Intel Firmware Support Package for Raptor Lake-P version IoT RPL-P IPU 2026.1 (6311_00)
- Intel microcode version ADL-P R0 0xc 10/07/2025
- Intel microcode version RPL-P J0 0x6134 08/10/2025
v0.9.2 - 2025-06-12¶
Test results for this release can be found here.
Added¶
- Introduced Quiet Mode for reduced technical output in logs
- Added TPM extend operations logging while maintaining quiet mode
- Added support for GPG Admin/User PIN output grabbing for Nitrokey HOTP verification
- Integrated EFF Diceware short wordlist v2 for easier passphrase generation
- Introduced automatic Secrets App reset logic for Nitrokey 3
- Unified and enhanced passphrase generation logic in recovery shell
- Quiet Mode now logs all technical details to /tmp/debug.log instead of showing them in the console
- Improved TPM2 primary handle debugging and error handling
- Refactored the OEM Factory Reset process to clarify mode-based security implications
- Improved kexec boot configuration handling with enhanced security warnings
- Transitioned from
ashshell tobashfor improved scripting consistency - Suppressed unnecessary grep errors for missing
/etc/config.user - Resolved logging inconsistencies when performing TPM resets
- Fixed Secure App PIN handling during Nitrokey 3 re-ownership
- Corrected Diceware dictionary parsing and selection method for unbiased passphrase generation
- Eliminated redundant USB Security dongle detection messages
- Add missing TPM PIRQ route for NV41
- Integrate downcoring and hyper-threading options in Alder Lake SoC
Fixed¶
Known issues¶
- Hotkeys (e.g KEY_PLAYPAUSE) are not implemented in Qubes OS
- Existing Qubes installation is not found as bootable after transition back to EDK2
Binaries¶
This is a Dasharo Pro Package Release. To obtain access to the pre-built binaries you will have to become the Dasharo Pro Package subscriber. You will get the access to all of the firmware updates for the duration of the subscription via Dasharo Pro Package newsletter.
To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key
SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)¶
- Dasharo heads fork based on v0.2.1 revision da9b8ed9
- Intel Management Engine version v16.1.30.2307
- Intel Flash Descriptor version v1.0
- Intel Firmware Support Package version ADL-P C.1.75.10
- Intel microcode version ADL L0/R0 0x00000433
- Intel microcode version RPL J0/Q0 0x00004121
v0.9.1 - 2024-06-27¶
Test results for this release can be found here .
Fixed¶
- NK3 not detected/discovered at OEM Factory Reset/Re-Ownership
- NK3 v1.7.1 firmware update compatibility
- Heads shuts down instead of rebooting
- Laptop boots when plugging in the power adapter
Known issues¶
- Power button does not work in Qubes
- Existing Qubes installation is not found as bootable after transition back to EDK2
- Builds are not fully reproducible
Binaries¶
To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key
SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)¶
- Dasharo heads fork based on v0.2.0 revision 0fb3886f
- Dasharo coreboot fork based on 4.21 revision 3a9aa3a4
- Intel Management Engine based on v16.1.30.2307 revision d0b63476
- Intel Flash Descriptor based on v1.0 revision d0b63476
- Intel Firmware Support Package based on ADL-P C.1.75.10 revision 481ea7cf
- Intel microcode based on ADL L0/R0 0x0000042c revision microcode-20230808
- Intel microcode based on RPL J0/Q0 0x00004119 revision microcode-20230808
v0.9.0 - 2024-02-29¶
Test results for this release can be found here.
Added¶
- Support for NovaCustom NV4x 12th Gen
- Open-source Embedded Controller Firmware
- The external headset connected to the jack slot works properly
- ISO keyboard works with non-US layouts NV4xMx
- Sleep working consistently
- Functional touchpad ON/OFF switch Fn key
- This is a Dasharo Pro Package release
- Heads Linux is used as a payload
Known issues¶
- Power button does not work in Qubes
- Heads shuts down instead of rebooting
- Existing Qubes installation is not found as bootable after transition back to EDK2
- Builds are not fully reproducible
Binaries¶
To verify binary integrity with hash and signature please follow the instructions in Dasharo release signature verification using this key
SBOM (Software Bill of Materials)¶
- Dasharo heads fork based on v0.2.0 revision ccf49703
- Dasharo coreboot fork based on 4.21 revision 3a9aa3a4
- Intel Management Engine based on v16.1.30.2307 revision d0b63476
- Intel Flash Descriptor based on v1.0 revision d0b63476
- Intel Firmware Support Package based on ADL-P C.1.75.10 revision 481ea7cf
- Intel microcode based on ADL L0/R0 0x0000042c revision microcode-20230808
- Intel microcode based on RPL J0/Q0 0x00004119 revision microcode-20230808