Ubuntu
unattended-upgrades package

Stops updating if dpkg was interrupted

Bug #584817 reported by Daniel Richard G.
14
This bug affects 2 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
unattended-upgrades (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

Binary package hint: unattended-upgrades

This was on an Ubuntu Karmic system with unattended-upgrades 0.52ubuntu1. U-u was set up by enabling the "Install security updates without confirmation" option in the Update Manager.

I examined this system (a laptop) today, and found that it had not received updates since February 5. When I hit the "Check" button in Update Manager, or ran "apt-get check", I got the following error:

    E: dpkg was interrupted, you must manually run 'sudo dpkg --configure -a' to correct the problem.

Sure enough, in u-u's /var/log/ subdirectory, I found a dpkg log from 2010-02-05 in which the last line is

    update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.31-19-generic

suggesting that the system ran out of battery or was otherwise forcibly shut down at that time.

U-u should know how to clear up a dpkg log jam when one occurs, or else an absent-minded user can stop updates from coming in and no one will be the wiser. (This is a laptop owned by a non-savvy user, and I have only sporadic access to it.)

Daniel Richard G. (skunk)
visibility: private → public
Revision history for this message
Jamie Strandboge (jdstrand) wrote :

Thanks for your report. We appreciate the difficulties you are facing, but this bug has already been reported. Please review the information and solution in bug 124373. We are marking this bug as a duplicate.

security vulnerability: yes → no
Revision history for this message
Daniel Richard G. (skunk) wrote :

Jamie, this bug isn't about dpkg itself getting stuck (though I'd like to see that get straightened out); this is about u-u not taking care of the problem itself.

The context is that of a system where the user doesn't ever touch the package-management tools, let alone "sudo dpkg" in a terminal: for example, a home-based "kiosk" for overnight guests, or a computer-phobic user who runs little more than a Web browser.

I believe this bug has security implications, because anything that prevents u-u from installing updates automatically may lead to a vulnerability exposure. I'm particularly concerned about the Firefox version falling behind, as that is the most likely attack vector for an otherwise mostly-default Ubuntu install.

Revision history for this message
Daniel Richard G. (skunk) wrote :

De-linking duplicate. If you feel that this bug is a dupe, please comment.

Michael Vogt (mvo)
Changed in unattended-upgrades (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
importance: Undecided → Medium
Michael Vogt (mvo)
Changed in unattended-upgrades (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Fix Committed
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package unattended-upgrades - 0.72ubuntu1

---------------
unattended-upgrades (0.72ubuntu1) natty; urgency=low

  * unattended-upgrade, data/50unattended-upgrades.{Debian,Ubuntu}:
    - automatically fix a interrupted dpkg (e.g. from a powerfailure)
      (LP: #584817)
    - add Unattended-Upgrade::AutoFixInterruptedDpkg to allow the admin
      to configure this option
 -- Michael Vogt <email address hidden> Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:43:26 +0200

Changed in unattended-upgrades (Ubuntu):
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Nikolaus Rath (nikratio) wrote :

Can we get this into karmic?

To post a comment you must log in.
This report contains Public information  
Everyone can see this information.
Subscribing...

Other bug subscribers

Remote bug watches

Bug watches keep track of this bug in other bug trackers.