[Bug 1157643] Re: procps fail to start

[phillsalt]

It looks like you are encountering an issue with the procps package
during the upgrade process on an Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS system. The error
seems to be related to the sysctl program failing when it can't write to
certain keys, resulting in the procps upstart job failing to start.

The proposed solution involves updating the procps package to address
the permission errors in the sysctl program. Here's a step-by-step
breakdown of the proposed solution:

Set up precise in an lxc container:
Create a container using the precise release of Ubuntu.

Apply updates from the -updates pocket:
Update the system within the container using the -updates repository.

Observe that the procps package fails to install:
Note the failure of the procps package installation.

Enable -proposed:
Enable the -proposed repository to access proposed updates.

Install the procps package from -proposed:
Install the updated procps package from the -proposed repository.

Observe that the package upgrades successfully:
Confirm that the procps package upgrade is successful after applying the proposed updates.

Regression potential:
The patch changes the behavior of the sysctl program, making permission errors non-fatal. There's a note about potential regression for anything relying on the current behavior, especially when sysctl is run by a non-root user. However, it's mentioned that sysctl is not meant to be invoked by non-root users.

In your case, it seems like the issue is related to permission errors on
the 'kernel.kptr_restrict' key. The proposed update should address this
and allow procps to start successfully.

Before proceeding, make sure to backup important data, and if possible,
test the proposed solution in a controlled environment to ensure
compatibility with your system configuration.

To apply the proposed solution, you can follow the provided test case
steps on your system. If you encounter any issues or have further
questions, feel free to ask for assistance. Answer Credit
https://checkricepurity.com/

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1157643

Title:
  procps fail to start

Status in procps package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in procps source package in Precise:
  Fix Released
Status in procps source package in Quantal:
  Fix Released
Status in procps source package in Raring:
  Fix Released
Status in procps source package in Saucy:
  Fix Released
Status in procps source package in Trusty:
  Fix Released

Bug description:
  [SRU justification]
  In a container, the procps package fails to upgrade because sysctl will fail when it can't write to certain keys.  Since the procps has just been SRUed, this means anyone running Ubuntu in a container (12.04 or later) will have upgrade failures because of the procps upstart job failing to start.

  [Test case]
  1. Set up precise in an lxc container.
  2. Apply updates from the -updates pocket.
  3. Observe that the procps package fails to install.
  4. Enable -proposed.
  5. Install the procps package from -proposed.
  6. Observe that the package upgrades successfully.

  [Regression potential]
  This patch changes the behavior of the sysctl program and causes permission errors to be non-fatal.  Anything relying on the current behavior (e.g., when sysctl is run by a non-root user) will regress as a result of this change, but it's not obvious why anything would rely on this since sysctl is not meant to be invoked by non-root users.  
  root at xxxxx:~# lsb_release -rd
  Description:    Ubuntu 12.04.2 LTS
  Release:        12.04

  root at xxxxxxx:~# apt-cache policy procps
  procps:
    Installed: 1:3.2.8-11ubuntu6
    Candidate: 1:3.2.8-11ubuntu6
    Version table:
   *** 1:3.2.8-11ubuntu6 0
          500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ precise/main amd64 Packages
          100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

  I have a VPS that i upgraded from Ubuntu 10.10 to 11.10 and then to 12.04.2 LTS.
  But something is wrong and now i can't upgrade procps. I get the following output,

  root at xxxxxx:~# apt-get  upgrade
  Reading package lists... Done
  Building dependency tree
  Reading state information... Done
  0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
  1 not fully installed or removed.
  After this operation, 0 B of additional disk space will be used.
  Do you want to continue [Y/n]?
  Setting up procps (1:3.2.8-11ubuntu6) ...
  start: Job failed to start
  invoke-rc.d: initscript procps, action "start" failed.
  dpkg: error processing procps (--configure):
   subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
  Errors were encountered while processing:
   procps
  E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)

  the /var/log/upstart/procps.log says,

  kernel.printk = 4 4 1 7
  net.ipv6.conf.all.use_tempaddr = 2
  net.ipv6.conf.default.use_tempaddr = 2
  error: permission denied on key 'kernel.kptr_restrict'
  net.ipv4.conf.default.rp_filter = 1
  net.ipv4.conf.all.rp_filter = 1
  net.ipv4.tcp_syncookies = 1
  vm.mmap_min_addr = 65536

  And the output when i try to start procps is just the following,

  root at xxxxx:~# service procps start
  start: Job failed to start

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