Package: apt-dater-host Version: 1.0.1-1 Severity: normal Tags: patch $ ssh ubuntu_xenial_machine # apt-dater-host kernel ADPROTO: 0.7 KERNELINFO: 1 4.13.0-36-generic # zgrep KERNELINFO -m 1 -A 4 -B 2 /usr/share/doc/apt-dater-host/ADP-0.7.gz The result line has the following format: KERNELINFO: ${Code} ${Release} The following codes are supported: 0 - The running kernel is the latest distri kernel. No reboot required. 1 - The running kernel is an distri kernel but it's older then the latest
So apt-dater-host is telling us, that a new kernel is available on this machine. Let's see: # uname -r 4.13.0-36-generic # dpkg-query -W -f='\${Package} \${Version} \${Status;20} \${Maintainer} \${Provides}\n' 'linux-image*' $linux-image $ $unknown ok not-insta $ $ $linux-image-4.13.0-31-generic $4.13.0-31.34~16.04.1 $deinstall ok config- $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $aufs-dkms, fuse-module, ivtv-modules, kvm-api-4, linux-image, redhat-cluster-modules, spl-dkms, spl-modules, virtualbox-guest-modules, zfs-dkms, zfs-modules $linux-image-4.13.0-32-generic $4.13.0-32.35~16.04.1 $install ok installed $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $aufs-dkms, fuse-module, ivtv-modules, kvm-api-4, linux-image, redhat-cluster-modules, spl-dkms, spl-modules, virtualbox-guest-modules, zfs-dkms, zfs-modules $linux-image-4.13.0-36-generic $4.13.0-36.40~16.04.1 $install ok installed $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $aufs-dkms, fuse-module, ivtv-modules, kvm-api-4, linux-image, redhat-cluster-modules, spl-dkms, spl-modules, virtualbox-guest-modules, zfs-dkms, zfs-modules $linux-image-extra-4.13.0-31-generic $4.13.0-31.34~16.04.1 $deinstall ok config- $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $ $linux-image-extra-4.13.0-32-generic $4.13.0-32.35~16.04.1 $install ok installed $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $ $linux-image-extra-4.13.0-36-generic $4.13.0-36.40~16.04.1 $install ok installed $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $ $linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04 $4.13.0.36.55 $install ok installed $Ubuntu Kernel Team <kernel-t...@lists.ubuntu.com> $ So, no, in fact, there is no newer kernel image available. We do have the latest kernel installed. Now if we go and debug apt-dater-host, we find out, that the above command (modulo the '\${Package}' name) is exactly what apt-dater-host is, to retrieve the list of available kernel images. Now why does apt-dater-host go wrong in determining whether there's a new kernel? It is because it iterates over that list [1] and compares the version from `uname -r` with the version from the list. The problem here is, that comparing the current installed kernel version with the version from the the last line, i.e. : # dpkg --compare-versions 4.13.0-36 lt 4.13.0.36.55 will yield # echo $? 0 meaning, yes there indeed *is* a newer kernel available. The problem is only, that linux-image-generic-hwe-16.04 is *not* a kernel package, but instead is a kernel *meta* package, that depends on the latest kernel... Current apt-dater-host versions from upsteam improve the query [2] with a: | grep linux-image Remember, the upstream query does not include the '\${Package}' field, so what the grep does is to effectively filter out by the '\${Provides}' field, which in the case of the meta package is empty. Only the "real" kernel packages do provide a 'linux-image'. Thus upstream's apt-dater-host works on Ubuntu, while Debian's apt-dater-host doesn't. If you update Debian's apt-dater-host then I think it will be pulled into Ubuntu, and things should be fixed there. So I ask you to please update the Debian apt-dater-host from upstream. Thanks. *t [1] https://github.com/DE-IBH/apt-dater-host/blob/master/dpkg/apt-dater-host#L383 [2] https://github.com/DE-IBH/apt-dater-host/blob/master/dpkg/apt-dater-host#L379 -- System Information: Debian Release: 9.3 APT prefers stable APT policy: (500, 'stable') Architecture: amd64 (x86_64) Foreign Architectures: i386 Kernel: Linux 4.9.0-5-amd64 (SMP w/8 CPU cores) Locale: LANG=de_CH.utf8, LC_CTYPE=de_CH.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE=de_CH:de (charmap=UTF-8) Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system) Versions of packages apt-dater-host depends on: ii libapt-pkg-perl 0.1.32 ii libimvirt-perl 0.9.6-3 ii lsb-release 9.20161125 ii openssh-server 1:7.4p1-10+deb9u2 ii perl 5.24.1-3+deb9u2 Versions of packages apt-dater-host recommends: pn imvirt <none> pn needrestart <none> ii sudo 1.8.19p1-2.1 apt-dater-host suggests no packages. -- Configuration Files: /etc/sudoers.d/apt-dater-host [Errno 13] Keine Berechtigung: '/etc/sudoers.d/apt-dater-host' -- no debconf information