[Bug 1747499] Re: 98-reboot-required and Interaction with livepatch

[Andreas Hasenack]

I think we can agree that the MOTD messaging gets confusing. The best
way to fix it is the question.

For example, we go from this:
(...)
*** System restart required ***
 * Canonical Livepatch is available for installation.
   - Reduce system reboots and improve kernel security. Activate at:
     https://ubuntu.com/livepatch

Last login: Tue Feb  6 11:37:27 2018 from 192.168.122.1

ubuntu at ubuntu:~$ cat /var/run/reboot-required.pkgs 
linux-image-4.4.0-112-generic
linux-base
linux-base
ubuntu at ubuntu:~$ uname -r
4.4.0-87-generic


To this, after I install livepatch and login again:
(...)
*** System restart required ***
 * Canonical Livepatch is enabled.
   - All available patches applied.

Last login: Tue Feb  6 11:41:02 2018 from 192.168.122.1
ubuntu at ubuntu:~$ 

And I do have a lot of CVEs shown in the livepatch status output. "Do I
need to reboot or not?" is a question I can imagine the user asking.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1747499

Title:
  98-reboot-required and Interaction with livepatch

Status in update-notifier package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  If a system is using canonical livepatch, has it enabled, and patches
  are applied, it could be confusing for a user to receive a "system
  restart required" messages in the MOTD when logging in.

  That message, when present, is printed by 98-reboot-required which
  essentially just cats /var/run/reboot-required to stdout. That file is
  placed by packages that require a reboot so that they are properly
  used in their updated versions. Examples that come to mind are libc
  and the kernel.

  There is a secondary file that can be created which says which
  packages requested the reboot. That would be /var/run/reboot-
  required.pkgs

  Ideally that script should not print out the reboot required message
  if a) livepatch is installed and enabled; b) the only trigger for the
  reboot is a kernel update.

  For (a), one can use the command "ubuntu-advantage is-livepatch-
  enabled" and check $?. That is in the ubuntu-advantage-tools package.

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