[Bug 1791959] Re: [SRU] remove orphaned initrd old-dkms files in /boot

Wed Sep 12 11:46:50 UTC 2018

** Summary changed:

- remove /boot/initrd.img-*.old-dkms files left behind
+ [SRU] remove orphaned initrd old-dkms files in /boot

** Description changed:

  [Impact]
  If a dkms package is installed which has REMAKE_INITRD or the same setting has been manually configured by a user then when a kernel is removed its possible for an ".old-dkms" file to be left in /boot with no associated kernel.

- bug 1515513 dealt with removing initrd.img-<version>.old-dkms files
- using the kernel's prerm hook, but that is only executed for the kernel
- version being removed: any other old-dkms file generated prior to that
- would not be removed by the hook, taking space in the /boot directory.
+ bug 1515513 dealt with removing old-dkms initrd files using the kernel's
+ prerm hook, but that is only executed for the kernel version being
+ removed: any other old-dkms file generated prior to that would not be
+ removed by the hook, taking space in the /boot directory and being
+ carried forward with every upgrade.

- Note: Filling up the /boot partition causes updates to fail.
+ Note: Filling up the /boot partition causes updates and upgrades to
+ fail.

  [Test Case]
  As the fix for bug 1515513 is available on Xenial and Bionic it is no longer possible to reproduce this by simply installing and updating kernels - dkms 2.2.0.3-2ubuntu11.3/xenial or 2.3-3ubuntu1/bionic would be required for that. In order to replicate it an old dkms file will be created by hand.

- This assumes a new Xenial/Bionic schroot.
+ This assumes a new Xenial/Bionic/Cosmic schroot.

- 1) create a file to work as a placeholder for the initrd.img old dkms file
- sudo touch /boot/initrd.img-4.0.0-0-generic.old-dkms
+ 1) create files to work as a placeholders for old dkms files (there are 4 possible namings for these files)
+ sudo touch /boot/initrd-4.0.0-0-generic.img.old-dkms /boot/initramfs-4.0.0-0-generic.img.old-dkms /boot/initrd.img-4.0.0-0-generic.old-dkms /boot/initrd-4.0.0-0-generic.old-dkms

  2) install 3 old kernels, r8168-dkms, and the current initramfs-tools
  * xenial:
  sudo apt-get install -y linux-image-4.4.0-21-generic linux-image-4.4.0-22-generic linux-image-4.4.0-24-generic r8168-dkms initramfs-tools=0.122ubuntu8.12
  * bionic:
+ TBD
+ * cosmic:
  TBD

  3) install the headers for the old kernels (forces dkms to run)
  * xenial:
  sudo apt-get install -y linux-headers-4.4.0-21-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-22-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-24-generic
  * bionic:
  TBD
+ * cosmic:
+ TBD

- 4) verify that there are 4 old-dkms, the manually created and one for each installed kernel
+ 4) verify that there are 7 old-dkms, the 4 manually created ones and one for each installed kernel
  ls /boot/*.old-dkms

  5) install the initramfs-tools that contains this fix
  sudo apt-get install -y initramfs-tools

- 6) verify that the manually created old-dkms file was removed and that there are only 3 files now, one for each installed kernel
+ 6) verify that the manually created old-dkms files were removed and that there are only 3 files now, one for each installed kernel
  ls /boot/*.old-dkms

  7) autoremove the older kernel
  sudo apt-get autoremove -y

  8) verify that there are now only 2 old-dkms, one for each installed kernel
  ls /boot/*.old-dkms

  [Regression Potential]
  Somebody out there might expect the .old-dkms file to be kept, but that seems like an odd expectation.

  One notices *.old-dkms files being left behind still sitting on the disk
  after purging the related kernel. This can cause /boot to become full,
  and when it gets really bad, even sudo apt-get autoremove won't fix the
  problem - only deleting the old-dkms files manually solves the problem.

** Patch removed: "initramfs-tools_0.122ubuntu8.12_debdiff_0.122ubuntu8.13.patch"
   https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/dkms/+bug/1791959/+attachment/5187601/+files/initramfs-tools_0.122ubuntu8.12_debdiff_0.122ubuntu8.13.patch

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1791959

Title:
  [SRU] remove orphaned initrd old-dkms files in /boot

Status in dkms package in Ubuntu:
  Invalid
Status in initramfs-tools package in Ubuntu:
  Confirmed
Status in dkms source package in Xenial:
  Invalid
Status in initramfs-tools source package in Xenial:
  New
Status in dkms source package in Bionic:
  Invalid
Status in initramfs-tools source package in Bionic:
  New

Bug description:
  [Impact]
  If a dkms package is installed which has REMAKE_INITRD or the same setting has been manually configured by a user then when a kernel is removed its possible for an ".old-dkms" file to be left in /boot with no associated kernel.

  bug 1515513 dealt with removing old-dkms initrd files using the
  kernel's prerm hook, but that is only executed for the kernel version
  being removed: any other old-dkms file generated prior to that would
  not be removed by the hook, taking space in the /boot directory and
  being carried forward with every upgrade.

  Note: Filling up the /boot partition causes updates and upgrades to
  fail.

  [Test Case]
  As the fix for bug 1515513 is available on Xenial and Bionic it is no longer possible to reproduce this by simply installing and updating kernels - dkms 2.2.0.3-2ubuntu11.3/xenial or 2.3-3ubuntu1/bionic would be required for that. In order to replicate it an old dkms file will be created by hand.

  This assumes a new Xenial/Bionic/Cosmic schroot.

  1) create files to work as a placeholders for old dkms files (there are 4 possible namings for these files)
  sudo touch /boot/initrd-4.0.0-0-generic.img.old-dkms /boot/initramfs-4.0.0-0-generic.img.old-dkms /boot/initrd.img-4.0.0-0-generic.old-dkms /boot/initrd-4.0.0-0-generic.old-dkms

  2) install 3 old kernels, r8168-dkms, and the current initramfs-tools
  * xenial:
  sudo apt-get install -y linux-image-4.4.0-21-generic linux-image-4.4.0-22-generic linux-image-4.4.0-24-generic r8168-dkms initramfs-tools=0.122ubuntu8.12
  * bionic:
  TBD
  * cosmic:
  TBD

  3) install the headers for the old kernels (forces dkms to run)
  * xenial:
  sudo apt-get install -y linux-headers-4.4.0-21-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-22-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-24-generic
  * bionic:
  TBD
  * cosmic:
  TBD

  4) verify that there are 7 old-dkms, the 4 manually created ones and one for each installed kernel
  ls /boot/*.old-dkms

  5) install the initramfs-tools that contains this fix
  sudo apt-get install -y initramfs-tools

  6) verify that the manually created old-dkms files were removed and that there are only 3 files now, one for each installed kernel
  ls /boot/*.old-dkms

  7) autoremove the older kernel
  sudo apt-get autoremove -y

  8) verify that there are now only 2 old-dkms, one for each installed kernel
  ls /boot/*.old-dkms

  [Regression Potential]
  Somebody out there might expect the .old-dkms file to be kept, but that seems like an odd expectation.

  One notices *.old-dkms files being left behind still sitting on the
  disk after purging the related kernel. This can cause /boot to become
  full, and when it gets really bad, even sudo apt-get autoremove won't
  fix the problem - only deleting the old-dkms files manually solves the
  problem.

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