[Bug 2077869] [NEW] systemd.postinst wants to restart masked systemd-binfmt.service

[Kees Bakker]

Public bug reported:

It is possible that the postinst is going to trigger a restart of
systemd-binfmt.service. Take a look at this section of systemd.postinst

_update_binfmt() {
    _systemctl restart systemd-binfmt.service || true
}

# Update Message Catalogs database and binfmt registrations in response to dpkg triggers
if [ "$1" = "triggered" ]; then
    shift
    for trigger in $@; do
        case $trigger in
            /usr/lib/systemd/catalog)
                _update_catalog an
                ;;
            /usr/lib/binfmt.d)
                _update_binfmt
                ;;
        esac
    done
    exit 0
fi

It happened to me when I create a Incus Ubuntu noble container from an
older image (2024-05-30) and then simply did a "apt update" plus "apt
dist-upgrade" in the container.

I'm getting

Failed to restart systemd-binfmt.service: Unit systemd-binfmt.service is
masked.

I'm not getting that error when I launch from the latest Incus image. So
something might depend on other things.

Nevertheless, the postinst should not even try to restart a service that
is masked.

** Affects: systemd (Ubuntu)
     Importance: Undecided
         Status: New

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2077869

Title:
  systemd.postinst wants to restart masked systemd-binfmt.service

Status in systemd package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  It is possible that the postinst is going to trigger a restart of
  systemd-binfmt.service. Take a look at this section of
  systemd.postinst

  _update_binfmt() {
      _systemctl restart systemd-binfmt.service || true
  }

  # Update Message Catalogs database and binfmt registrations in response to dpkg triggers
  if [ "$1" = "triggered" ]; then
      shift
      for trigger in $@; do
          case $trigger in
              /usr/lib/systemd/catalog)
                  _update_catalog an
                  ;;
              /usr/lib/binfmt.d)
                  _update_binfmt
                  ;;
          esac
      done
      exit 0
  fi

  It happened to me when I create a Incus Ubuntu noble container from an
  older image (2024-05-30) and then simply did a "apt update" plus "apt
  dist-upgrade" in the container.

  I'm getting

  Failed to restart systemd-binfmt.service: Unit systemd-binfmt.service
  is masked.

  I'm not getting that error when I launch from the latest Incus image.
  So something might depend on other things.

  Nevertheless, the postinst should not even try to restart a service
  that is masked.

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