fix(windows-installer): UseSetupLdr=no so Smart App Control can't block it#331
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fix(windows-installer): UseSetupLdr=no so Smart App Control can't block it#331BitHighlander wants to merge 1 commit into
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…ck it The default single-exe Inno installer self-extracts an UNSIGNED setup.tmp engine to %TEMP% and runs it. Smart App Control (on by default on many Win11 machines) blocks unsigned code, so v1.4.11 died with "Setup failed to initialize" (exit 1, CodeIntegrity 3077/3033) and installed nothing. The EV signature on the outer setup.exe doesn't help — SAC evaluates the extracted setup.tmp on its own, and stock Inno can't sign it. The app binaries themselves are all EV-signed and SAC-clean; only the installer's extracted stub was the problem. Fix: - installer.iss: UseSetupLdr=no -> no setup.tmp; the signed setup.exe is the engine and runs in-process, so SAC only sees the signed exe. Inno now emits setup.exe + setup-*.bin. - build-windows-production.ps1: zip the parts into KeepKey-Vault-<ver>-win-x64-setup.zip and delete the loose exe/bin so a bare (SAC-blocked) single exe can't be shipped by accident. - docs: WINDOWS-BUILD-AND-SIGN.md gains a "Smart App Control" section and a MANDATORY "install under SAC (Enforce)" checklist item — SAC-off machines are an invalid test, which is how this slipped through (1.4.7 smoke test was SAC-off). Full write-up in docs/incidents/. Validated on a SAC-Enforce machine via the real download flow (zip + MotW -> extract -> run setup.exe): exit 0, version 1.4.11, no 3077/3033, app boots. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Summary
Postmortem fix for the 1.4.11 Windows installer, which failed to launch on any machine with Smart App Control (SAC) enabled. Ports the fix already on
release/1.4.11(35c89547).Root cause
A default single-exe Inno installer self-extracts an unsigned
setup.tmpengine to%TEMP%and runs it. SAC (default-on for many Win11 installs) blocks unsigned code → "Setup failed to initialize" (exit 1, CodeIntegrity 3077/3033), nothing installs. The EV signature on the outersetup.exedoesn't help — SAC evaluates the extractedsetup.tmpindependently and stock Inno can't sign it. The app binaries are all EV-signed and SAC-clean; only the installer's stub was the problem.Fix
installer.iss:UseSetupLdr=no→ nosetup.tmp; the signedsetup.exeis the engine, runs in-process, SAC only sees the signed exe. Inno emitssetup.exe+setup-*.bin.build-windows-production.ps1: zips the parts intoKeepKey-Vault-<ver>-win-x64-setup.zipand deletes the loose exe/bin so a bare (SAC-blocked) single-exe can't ship by accident.WINDOWS-BUILD-AND-SIGN.mdgains a "Smart App Control" section + a mandatory "install under SAC (Enforce)" checklist item (SAC-off machines are an invalid test — that's how it slipped through: the 1.4.7 smoke test was SAC-off). Full write-up indocs/incidents/1.4.11-smart-app-control-installer-block.md.Validation
On a SAC-Enforce machine, real download flow (zip + Mark-of-the-Web → extract → run
setup.exe): installer exit 0, version → 1.4.11, no 3077/3033, app boots (+869ms: boot complete).v1.4.11re-shipped as the.zip; broken.exeremoved.Follow-ups (not in this PR)
.zip(extract → runsetup.exe), not a.exe..zipis a UX regression vs a one-click.exe. Evaluate NSIS (in-process, single signed exe, SAC-clean) or MSIX/MSI to restore a single downloadable file.🤖 Generated with Claude Code