[Bug 1606600] [NEW] "dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades" results in error message, no change to configuration in Ubuntu 16.04

[Rod Smith]

Public bug reported:

I'm trying to script a change to the automatic updating of servers, and
tried the following:

echo "debconf unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates boolean false" | debconf-set-selections -
dpkg-reconfigure -fnoninteractive unattended-upgrades

The result, however, is a warning message:

update-rc.d: warning: start and stop actions are no longer supported;
falling back to defaults

At this point, the change I tried to make seems to be lost. To show this
in an expanded sequence:

root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# debconf-show unattended-upgrades
* unattended-upgrades/origins_pattern: "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename},label=Debian-Security";
* unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates: true
root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# echo "debconf unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates boolean false" | debconf-set-selections -
root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# debconf-show unattended-upgrades
* unattended-upgrades/origins_pattern: "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename},label=Debian-Security";
* unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates: false
root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# dpkg-reconfigure -fnoninteractive unattended-upgrades
update-rc.d: warning: start and stop actions are no longer supported; falling back to defaults
root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# debconf-show unattended-upgrades
* unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates: true
* unattended-upgrades/origins_pattern: "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename},label=Debian-Security";

If I omit the "-fnoninteractive" option to dpkg-reconfigure, I still get
the warning message, but the change IS accepted and takes effect. Of
course, this isn't useful in a script that should be run non-
interactively. I've tried the equivalent commands to reconfigure other
packages, and they work without error message, so I believe the problem
is with unattended-upgrades, not with debconf/dpkg-reconfigure.

This problem affects Ubuntu 16.04.1 (and probably 16.04 GA, but I've not
tested it). It works as expected with Ubuntu 14.04. (That version, of
course, defeaults to "false" for the unattended-
upgrades/enable_auto_updates value. I've tested both with the default
"false" value and after changing it to "true," with successful runs both
times.)

Version information, as requested:

$ lsb_release -rd
Description:	Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS
Release:	16.04

$ apt-cache policy unattended-upgrades
unattended-upgrades:
  Installed: 0.90
  Candidate: 0.90
  Version table:
 *** 0.90 500
        500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

$ apt-cache policy debconf
debconf:
  Installed: 1.5.58ubuntu1
  Candidate: 1.5.58ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 1.5.58ubuntu1 500
        500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages
        500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main i386 Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

** Affects: unattended-upgrades (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1606600

Title:
  "dpkg-reconfigure unattended-upgrades" results in error message, no
  change to configuration in Ubuntu 16.04

Status in unattended-upgrades package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  I'm trying to script a change to the automatic updating of servers,
  and tried the following:

  echo "debconf unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates boolean false" | debconf-set-selections -
  dpkg-reconfigure -fnoninteractive unattended-upgrades

  The result, however, is a warning message:

  update-rc.d: warning: start and stop actions are no longer supported;
  falling back to defaults

  At this point, the change I tried to make seems to be lost. To show
  this in an expanded sequence:

  root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# debconf-show unattended-upgrades
  * unattended-upgrades/origins_pattern: "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename},label=Debian-Security";
  * unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates: true
  root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# echo "debconf unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates boolean false" | debconf-set-selections -
  root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# debconf-show unattended-upgrades
  * unattended-upgrades/origins_pattern: "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename},label=Debian-Security";
  * unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates: false
  root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# dpkg-reconfigure -fnoninteractive unattended-upgrades
  update-rc.d: warning: start and stop actions are no longer supported; falling back to defaults
  root at brennan:/home/ubuntu# debconf-show unattended-upgrades
  * unattended-upgrades/enable_auto_updates: true
  * unattended-upgrades/origins_pattern: "origin=Debian,codename=${distro_codename},label=Debian-Security";

  If I omit the "-fnoninteractive" option to dpkg-reconfigure, I still
  get the warning message, but the change IS accepted and takes effect.
  Of course, this isn't useful in a script that should be run non-
  interactively. I've tried the equivalent commands to reconfigure other
  packages, and they work without error message, so I believe the
  problem is with unattended-upgrades, not with debconf/dpkg-
  reconfigure.

  This problem affects Ubuntu 16.04.1 (and probably 16.04 GA, but I've
  not tested it). It works as expected with Ubuntu 14.04. (That version,
  of course, defeaults to "false" for the unattended-
  upgrades/enable_auto_updates value. I've tested both with the default
  "false" value and after changing it to "true," with successful runs
  both times.)

  Version information, as requested:

  $ lsb_release -rd
  Description:	Ubuntu 16.04.1 LTS
  Release:	16.04

  $ apt-cache policy unattended-upgrades
  unattended-upgrades:
    Installed: 0.90
    Candidate: 0.90
    Version table:
   *** 0.90 500
          500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages
          500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main i386 Packages
          100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

  $ apt-cache policy debconf
  debconf:
    Installed: 1.5.58ubuntu1
    Candidate: 1.5.58ubuntu1
    Version table:
   *** 1.5.58ubuntu1 500
          500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main amd64 Packages
          500 http://192.168.1.2//ubuntu xenial/main i386 Packages
          100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

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