Marks unneeded packages as manually installed, if --dry-run is used

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

Another example:

Option --dry-run given, *not* performing real actions
Packages that will be upgraded:
marking linux-image-extra-3.13.0-57-generic for remove
marking linux-image-3.13.0-57-generic for remove
marking linux-headers-3.13.0-57-generic for remove
marking linux-headers-3.13.0-57 for remove
Packages that are auto removed: 'linux-headers-3.13.0-57 linux-headers-3.13.0-57-generic linux-image-3.13.0-57-generic linux-image-extra-3.13.0-57-generic'
/usr/bin/dpkg --status-fd 9 --force-depends --force-remove-essential --remove linux-headers-3.13.0-57-generic:amd64 linux-headers-3.13.0-57:all linux-image-extra-3.13.0-57-generic:amd64 linux-image-3.13.0-57-generic:amd64
/usr/bin/dpkg --status-fd 11 --configure --pending
Packages were successfully auto-removed
InstCount=0 DelCount=4 BrokenCount=0

This bug was fixed in the package unattended-upgrades - 0.93.1ubuntu1

---------------
unattended-upgrades (0.93.1ubuntu1) zesty; urgency=medium

  [ Brian Murray ]
  * When performing a sanity check for packages to install or upgrade return
    false when either there are no packages in the cache or the package to
    upgrade is not in the change set. (LP: #1654070)
  * Do not mark packages for deletion / autoremoval if unattended-upgrades is
    being run in dry-run mode. (LP: #1544942)

  [ Louis Bouchard ]
  * Store delay command line option as an int not a string since we do maths
    with it.

 -- Brian Murray <email address hidden> Fri, 06 Jan 2017 13:00:24 -0800

How about SRU?

I've uploaded this fix to the SRU queue for Xenial.

Hello Jarno, or anyone else affected,

Accepted unattended-upgrades into xenial-proposed. The package will build now and be available at https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/unattended-upgrades/0.90ubuntu0.8 in a few hours, and then in the -proposed repository.

Please help us by testing this new package. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation on how to enable and use -proposed.Your feedback will aid us getting this update out to other Ubuntu users.

If this package fixes the bug for you, please add a comment to this bug, mentioning the version of the package you tested and change the tag from verification-needed-xenial to verification-done-xenial. If it does not fix the bug for you, please add a comment stating that, and change the tag to verification-failed-xenial. In either case, details of your testing will help us make a better decision.

Further information regarding the verification process can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/PerformingSRUVerification . Thank you in advance!

Tried version 0.90ubuntu0.8 and it worked ok.

This bug was fixed in the package unattended-upgrades - 0.90ubuntu0.8

---------------
unattended-upgrades (0.90ubuntu0.8) xenial; urgency=medium

  * Do not mark packages for deletion / autoremoval if unattended-upgrades is
    being run in dry-run mode. (LP: #1544942)

 -- Brian Murray <email address hidden> Mon, 18 Sep 2017 13:36:57 -0700

The verification of the Stable Release Update for unattended-upgrades has completed successfully and the package has now been released to -updates. Subsequently, the Ubuntu Stable Release Updates Team is being unsubscribed and will not receive messages about this bug report. In the event that you encounter a regression using the package from -updates please report a new bug using ubuntu-bug and tag the bug report regression-update so we can easily find any regressions.