Bug 502032 - Keystrokes not registering in X11-based context menus within Wayland session
Summary: Keystrokes not registering in X11-based context menus within Wayland session
Status: RESOLVED WORKSFORME
Alias: None
Product: kwin
Classification: Plasma
Component: wayland-generic (other bugs)
Version First Reported In: 6.3.3
Platform: Arch Linux Linux
: NOR normal
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: KWin default assignee
URL:
Keywords: wayland-only
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2025-03-26 16:34 UTC by Jacob
Modified: 2025-05-08 03:47 UTC (History)
2 users (show)

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Description Jacob 2025-03-26 16:34:46 UTC
Summary:
Keystrokes not registering in X11-based context menus within Wayland session

Description:
When running Unreal Engine 5.5 (X11-based application) on Arch Linux under KDE Plasma Wayland session, keystrokes are not being registered in context menus within the editor (such as the blueprint graph right-click menu).

I have identified the issue to be related to Wayland’s handling of legacy X11 apps. Currently, the only working solution (from within a wayland session) that I have been able to find is to enable the "Allow legacy X11 apps to read keystrokes typed in all apps" setting in KDE Plasma's "Legacy X11 App Support" options and set it to "Always". However, this workaround significantly reduces security by allowing all legacy X11 applications to potentially intercept sensitive keyboard inputs.

I am not sure how many other applications this issue impacts but, depending on the application, it is likely that this issue could happen in other X11 applications since this issue seems to be related to Wayland’s handling of legacy X11 apps and not an issue with the Unreal Editor.

Steps to Reproduce:

Launch KDE Plasma under Wayland.

Download Unreal Engine binaries and run Unreal Engine 5.5 (via XWayland).

Open a blueprint graph within Unreal Engine.

Right-click to open the context menu and attempt to type to filter/search.

Observed Behavior:
Keystrokes are ignored; no input is registered.

Expected Behavior:
Keystrokes should be correctly registered within the X11-based application's context menu without compromising system security.

System Information:

KDE Plasma Version: 6.3.3

KDE Frameworks Version: 6.12.0

Qt Version: 6.8.2

Operating System: Arch Linux 6.13.8-arch1-1 (64-bit)

Graphics Hardware and Drivers: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Driver Version: 570.133.07

Workaround (with security concerns):
Enabling the setting:
"Allow legacy X11 apps to read keystrokes typed in all apps" = Always

Request:
A safer and more secure solution or workaround that allows keystrokes in X11 applications without compromising overall system security.
Comment 1 John Kizer 2025-04-08 18:49:02 UTC
Hi - I can't reproduce the conceptual issue with existing XWayland applications on my device. Just to double-check:

* Have you observed this in any application other than Unreal Engine? (Possibly relevant: https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/i-cannot-type-inside-the-blueprint-action-window/2078805 and https://forums.unrealengine.com/t/theres-a-way-to-run-or-build-ue-5-with-wayland-support/1744085/4 )
* Does manually focusing the context menu enable typing in it?

Thanks!
Comment 2 Bug Janitor Service 2025-04-23 03:47:29 UTC
🐛🧹 ⚠️ This bug has been in NEEDSINFO status with no change for at least 15 days. Please provide the requested information, then set the bug status to REPORTED. If there is no change for at least 30 days, it will be automatically closed as RESOLVED WORKSFORME.

For more information about our bug triaging procedures, please read https://community.kde.org/Guidelines_and_HOWTOs/Bug_triaging.

Thank you for helping us make KDE software even better for everyone!
Comment 3 Bug Janitor Service 2025-05-08 03:47:28 UTC
🐛🧹 This bug has been in NEEDSINFO status with no change for at least 30 days. Closing as RESOLVED WORKSFORME.