[Bug 2152278] [NEW] apt-helper wait-online causes unnecessary timeouts on systems with unconfigured interfaces

[Taylor Raack]

Public bug reported:

apt-helper wait-online calls systemd-networkd-wait-online without
interface arguments, causing it to wait for ALL interfaces including
unconfigured ones (like WiFi with no carrier).

This causes apt-daily.service to timeout even when the primary network
connection is working fine.

Steps to reproduce:
1. Have a system with ethernet configured and WiFi present but unconfigured
2. Run `apt-helper wait-online` or trigger apt-daily.service
3. Observe timeout after 30 seconds

Expected behavior:
apt-helper wait-online should respect which interfaces are actually configured, or the service dependencies (After=network-online.target) should be sufficient.

Actual behavior:
Times out waiting for unconfigured WiFi interface to come online.

Workaround:
Override apt-daily.service to remove the ExecStartPre wait-online call.

Related: Debian bug #882504 from 2017 (https://bugs.debian.org/882504)
describes this same issue.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 26.04
Package: apt 3.2.0
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 7.0.0-15.15-generic 7.0.0
Uname: Linux 7.0.0-15-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.34.0-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
Date: Tue May 12 19:34:51 2026
InstallationDate: Installed on 2026-04-26 (17 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-Server 26.04 "Resolute Raccoon" - Release amd64 (20260420.1)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 SHELL=/bin/bash
 TERM=xterm-256color
SourcePackage: apt
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

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


** Tags: amd64 apport-bug resolute

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2152278

Title:
  apt-helper wait-online causes unnecessary timeouts on systems with
  unconfigured interfaces

Status in apt package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  apt-helper wait-online calls systemd-networkd-wait-online without
  interface arguments, causing it to wait for ALL interfaces including
  unconfigured ones (like WiFi with no carrier).

  This causes apt-daily.service to timeout even when the primary network
  connection is working fine.

  Steps to reproduce:
  1. Have a system with ethernet configured and WiFi present but unconfigured
  2. Run `apt-helper wait-online` or trigger apt-daily.service
  3. Observe timeout after 30 seconds

  Expected behavior:
  apt-helper wait-online should respect which interfaces are actually configured, or the service dependencies (After=network-online.target) should be sufficient.

  Actual behavior:
  Times out waiting for unconfigured WiFi interface to come online.

  Workaround:
  Override apt-daily.service to remove the ExecStartPre wait-online call.

  Related: Debian bug #882504 from 2017 (https://bugs.debian.org/882504)
  describes this same issue.

  ProblemType: Bug
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 26.04
  Package: apt 3.2.0
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 7.0.0-15.15-generic 7.0.0
  Uname: Linux 7.0.0-15-generic x86_64
  ApportVersion: 2.34.0-0ubuntu2
  Architecture: amd64
  CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
  Date: Tue May 12 19:34:51 2026
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2026-04-26 (17 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu-Server 26.04 "Resolute Raccoon" - Release amd64 (20260420.1)
  ProcEnviron:
   LANG=en_US.UTF-8
   PATH=(custom, no user)
   SHELL=/bin/bash
   TERM=xterm-256color
  SourcePackage: apt
  UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

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