#1117498 pkexec authentication dialog opens as modal window, blocking virtual keyboard input (Cinnamon, Debian 13)

Package:
cinnamon
Source:
cinnamon
Description:
Innovative and comfortable desktop
Submitter:
bayram karahan
Date:
2026-10-25 17:47:02 UTC
Severity:
normal
#1117498#5
Date:
2025-10-06 18:37:52 UTC
From:
To:
Hello Debian team,

On Debian 13 with the Cinnamon desktop environment, when I run a command
using `pkexec`, the authentication dialog appears as a modal window that
blocks all interaction with other windows, including the on-screen keyboard
(e.g., Onboard).

Example:
    /usr/bin/env DISPLAY=:0 XAUTHORITY=/home/etapadmin/.Xauthority
zamanligorevgui

The authentication dialog appears centered on the screen and prevents
interaction with the virtual keyboard behind it. As a result, it's
impossible to enter the password on systems without a physical keyboard.

Expected behavior:
The authentication dialog should not be strictly modal, or it should allow
the on-screen keyboard to remain interactive.

System information:
- Debian 13 (Trixie, Testing)
- Cinnamon desktop
- policykit-1 version: 122-3
- pkexec version: 122
- Virtual keyboard: onboard 1.4.1

This issue makes authentication impossible on touch-only devices.

Thank you.
#1117498#10
Date:
2025-10-06 18:51:09 UTC
From:
To:
Hi Bayram

Am 06.10.25 um 20:37 schrieb bayram karahan:


The policykit-1 package does not ship any graphical components, i.e. it
does not have any influence on what happens in your desktop session.

The authentication dialogs are provided by the polkit authentication
agent running inside your desktop session, not by policykit-1 itself.

Some desktop shells, like GNOME or cinnamon(?) have those authentication
dialogs builtin. Other desktop environments rely on external.

You can check which packages provide polkit-1-auth-agent and then verify
which of those is active for you and then file a bug report against that
package.
#1117498#15
Date:
2025-10-06 18:55:53 UTC
From:
To:
Control: reassign -1 cinnamon 6.4.10-2
Control: affects -1 + src:policykit-1

polkit (policykit-1) is not responsible for the desktop-specific user
interface for the authentication dialog (the "polkit agent").

In Cinnamon's case, the authentication dialog is integrated into
Cinnamon itself. Different desktop environments have different design
decisions here: some integrate a polkit agent into the desktop shell
like GNOME and Cinnamon, and some have a separate polkit agent like MATE
and KDE Plasma.

     smcv
#1117498#32
Date:
2026-10-25 17:44:07 UTC
From:
To:
Hi Bayram,

sorry for the late answer. In Cinnamon the authentication dialog is part
of Cinnamon itself, and while it's open it takes all the input, so a
separate on-screen keyboard program like Onboard can't type into it. I
checked it on Debian 13 with Cinnamon 6.4.10: Onboard works normally in
other windows, but its keys do nothing while the dialog is open.

Cinnamon has its own on-screen keyboard, and that one works with these
dialogs: when it's enabled, the dialog doesn't block the rest of the
screen, and I could type the password with it and authenticate. You can
enable it in System Settings > Accessibility > Keyboard > "Enable the
on-screen keyboard", or with:

gsettings set org.cinnamon.desktop.a11y.applications
screen-keyboard-enabled true

In this version, once enabled, it stays visible all the time.

Could you check if that works for you?

The problem with Onboard is tracked upstream at
https://github.com/linuxmint/cinnamon/issues/12597 (still open).

Best regards,
Fabio