TBB > 10.0.18 (inc. 10.5.5 and 11.02a) Launches CPU-bound with multiple About tabs (Ubuntu 16.04)
Expected Behaviour
With environment variables set and modified autoconfig.js
and firefox.cfg
documented in the forums to silence the intistitial and open the TBB as a regular Internet browser, that browser versions > 10.0.18 launch normally, display a single tab (that perhaps changes colour and displays a warning that it the browser is not connected to the TOR network, (though preferably without)) and that the browser consumes some reasonable fraction of the CPU just as browser versions <= 10.0.18 do.
Actual Behaviour
With the well known changes to the config files to use TOR without the TOR network as a regular hardened browser, all tested version of the browser > 10.0.18 exhibit the following insidious behaviour:
Upon launching, multiple phantom "About" are created
If the phantom tabs are closed by visiting each in turn and closing, or simply by activating each tab's close action, they can be closed successfully; however when only the penultimate tab remains, if it is closed (leaving just one tab), the cycle repeats and phantom tabs are re-created
A multicore CPU will report 100% load on the firefox process.
Environment
Device
Desktop Thin Client
OS
HP ThinPro 7.1 (OEM Ubuntu 16.04 LTS)
Packaging Method
Debian .deb
Package Installation
The browser package is not being installed, but the data.tar.xz payload extracted and placed on one or more of:
Local /tmp -- used for testing releases rather than trusting to "install" them blind over a previously working installation
NAS fileshare -- primary "installation" location for office-based desktops
Locally-attached BTRFS-formatted USB stick for commonly-used apps required even when offline
(Package installation proper is not allowed under support ts&cs. (The majority of added apps are therefore AppImages)).
Steps to Reproduce
/tmp/tor-browser_en-US
Dearchive an English language version of TBB > 10.0.18, e.g. 10.5.5 or 11.02a into
TOR_SKIP_LAUNCH
, TOR_TRANSPROXY
and TOR_NO_DISPLAY_NETWORK_SETTINGS
per community instructions.
Set the
firefox.cfg
(via autoconfig.js
) as documented by the community
Set network preferences to not use TOR and use regular DNS by appending to TBB's
start-tor-browser
executable
Launch TBB using the installation-provided Script to Reproduce
NOTE a wrapper/launcher is used to achieve the above.
Demonstration of Issue
The (use the password MNyHUnQHrk
) shows load before TBB is launched and after TBB 10.5.2 ESR is launched
Logs
Run with --verbose
no logging output is generated that hints at why TBB is looping.
$ cat /tmp/tor_2021-09-02_15-27-27.log
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0x0600
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0x0601
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0x0602
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0x0603
...
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0xfff9
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0xfffa
Unable to update the static FcBlanks: 0xfffb
(firefox:26589): Gtk-WARNING **: Error loading theme icon 'document-save' for stock: Icon 'document-save' not present in theme hp-xenon-gray
(firefox:26589): Gtk-WARNING **: Error loading theme icon 'document-save' for stock: Icon 'document-save' not present in theme hp-xenon-gray
(firefox:26589): Gtk-WARNING **: Error loading theme icon 'dialog-question' for stock: Icon 'dialog-question' not present in theme hp-xenon-gray