Incompatible libdevmapper 1.02.136 (2016-11-05) and kernel driver (unknown version).

There is a new Zesty regression on armhf, related to the autopkgtest for ubuntu-image. Here's a log of a recent run:

https://objectstorage.prodstack4-5.canonical.com/v1/AUTH_77e2ada1e7a84929a74ba3b87153c0ac/autopkgtest-zesty/zesty/armhf/u/ubuntu-image/20170111_171929_431b1@/log.gz

Scroll to the bottom and you see this:

Incompatible libdevmapper 1.02.136 (2016-11-05) and kernel driver (unknown version).
device mapper prerequisites not met
/dev/mapper/control: mknod failed: Operation not permitted
Failure to communicate with kernel device-mapper driver.
Check that device-mapper is available in the kernel.
Incompatible libdevmapper 1.02.136 (2016-11-05) and kernel driver (unknown version).
device mapper prerequisites not met

Don't be misled by the gadget.yamls which name different architectures. ubuntu-image should be able to build a disk image for any architecture on any architecture.

What this test does is build the image, then run kpartx to map the partitions in the image, and then mount the partitions. It doesn't do anything other than ensure that the partitions can be mounted, and this is where it's failing.

This test succeeds on amd64, i386, and ppc64el. It's never passed on s390x so that's not a regression. It *used* to pass on armhf even on Zesty, but the recent upload of 0.13+17.10ubuntu2 displays the regression.

I will bugtask this to libdevmapper and kpartx since it's possibly a bug in one of those packages (though I still suspect the kernel).

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 17.04
Package: linux-image-4.9.0-11-generic 4.9.0-11.12
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.9.0-11.12-generic 4.9.0
Uname: Linux 4.9.0-11-generic x86_64
NonfreeKernelModules: zfs zunicode zavl zcommon znvpair nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia
ApportVersion: 2.20.4-0ubuntu1
Architecture: amd64
AudioDevicesInUse:
 USER PID ACCESS COMMAND
 /dev/snd/controlC1: barry 5414 F.... pulseaudio
 /dev/snd/controlC0: barry 5414 F.... pulseaudio
CurrentDesktop: Unity
Date: Wed Jan 11 13:10:30 2017
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
HibernationDevice: RESUME=UUID=8cc96f00-242f-42c6-bdb9-72db178f8864
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-01-22 (355 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Alpha amd64 (20160117)
MachineType: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. Z170X-UD5
ProcFB:

ProcKernelCmdLine: BOOT_IMAGE=/boot/vmlinuz-4.9.0-11-generic root=UUID=d03718f1-9983-4b07-a942-1b42fe8352ec ro
RelatedPackageVersions:
 linux-restricted-modules-4.9.0-11-generic N/A
 linux-backports-modules-4.9.0-11-generic N/A
 linux-firmware 1.162
RfKill:

SourcePackage: linux
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
dmi.bios.date: 07/24/2015
dmi.bios.vendor: American Megatrends Inc.
dmi.bios.version: F2
dmi.board.asset.tag: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.board.name: Z170X-UD5-CF
dmi.board.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.
dmi.board.version: x.x
dmi.chassis.asset.tag: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.type: 3
dmi.chassis.vendor: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.chassis.version: To Be Filled By O.E.M.
dmi.modalias: dmi:bvnAmericanMegatrendsInc.:bvrF2:bd07/24/2015:svnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:pnZ170X-UD5:pvrTobefilledbyO.E.M.:rvnGigabyteTechnologyCo.,Ltd.:rnZ170X-UD5-CF:rvrx.x:cvnToBeFilledByO.E.M.:ct3:cvrToBeFilledByO.E.M.:
dmi.product.name: Z170X-UD5
dmi.product.version: To be filled by O.E.M.
dmi.sys.vendor: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd.