built official kernel but bunch of modules no longer load on starting WSL2

[Mungr3ss]

Windows Version

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.26200.8875]

WSL Version

2.7.11.0

Are you using WSL 1 or WSL 2?

• WSL 2
• WSL 1

Kernel Version

6.18.40.1

Distro Version

Ubuntu-25.10

Other Software

No response

Repro Steps

1. followed instructions at https://github.com/microsoft/WSL2-Linux-Kernel
2. installed kernel by placing
   kernel=C:\Users\username\vmlinux
   kernelModules=C:\Users\username\modules.vhdx
   in the wsl config file.
3. booted up wsl2, checked lsmod (shows no modules loaded)
4. tried qemu, said kvm not available
5. sudo modprobe kvm says fatal error /lib/modules/kernel_version not found

still learning WSL2 things, no idea what i might of got wrong ?

Expected Behavior

normally i see the modules loaded after starting wsl2.

Actual Behavior

Diagnostic Logs

WslLogs-2026-08-20_16-00-42.tar.gz

[github-actions]

The log file doesn't contain any WSL traces. Please make sure that you reproduced the issue while the log collection was running.

Diagnostic information

.wslconfig found
	Custom kernel found: 'C:\Users\Richard\vmlinux'
Detected appx version: 2.7.11.0
Unexpected format in optional-component.txt: State       : Superseded
Found no WSL traces in the logs

[Mungr3ss]

I did that mr bot. i will wait for a real user to comment.

[OneBlue]

Mungr3ss: Can you share details on you build the modules vhd and which files it contains ? Based on the error you're getting, there's most likely an issue with it

[chemwolf6922]

Hi Mungr3ss .
The module.vhd layout changed in the kernel repo. The current released / pre-released WSL won't be able to consume those. The WSL side is updated in #41267.
For now, please consider use the kernel source before this change: linux-msft-wsl-6.18.35.2