Subject: System Locale Dependency Issue in Plymouth Package Script During Initramfs Generation

Dear Kali Linux Team,

I am writing to report a locale-dependent issue I encountered during system updates and fresh installations.

Problem Description:
When performing apt updates using the Kali Linux zh_CN. UTF-8 language, the plymouth package script failed to execute during the update-initramfs process. Error:

E: /usr/share/initramfs-tools/hooks/plymouth failed with return 1
update-initramfs: failed for /boot/initrd.img-6.12.13-amd64 with 1

This manifests as missing boot splash graphics. However, switching system locale to en_US. UTF-8 allows successful initramfs regeneration via:

sudo update-initramfs -u

with normal Plymouth functionality restored.

Reproduction Steps:

Perform a new installation in virtualbox using kali-linux-2025-W22-installer-amd64, with the language being Simplified Chinese

Observed package installation failures related to plymouth

Installation succeeds when using English (US) locale

Verified same behavior in Kali Purple environment

Supporting Evidence:

Attached troubleshooting package contains:

VirtualBox installation logs (When the language is simplified Chinese)

apt update error outputs

Technical Observations:

The issue appears specific to zh_CN. UTF-8 locale configuration

Plymouth script failure persists across different environments:

I would be glad to provide additional diagnostics or testing assistance. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] for any further information required to investigate this locale-specific dependency issue.

Thank you for maintaining this exceptional security platform. I appreciate your time in addressing this matter.

Best regards,
Kali Linux Community