Although /run/motd.dynamic is being updated, it's being updated after being displayed, which is why you see the old one from the previous login. After commenting out the second line with no arguments:
session optional pam_motd.so # [1] /run/motd.dynamic was no longer being updated on login so I knew this was the line triggering the udpate. After moving the noupdate to this line I was seeing the freshly generated motd.dynamic on login. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Touch seeded packages, which is subscribed to shadow in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1368864 Title: old motd is displayed on login Status in shadow package in Ubuntu: Triaged Bug description: On Trusty, during login, the motd displayed is from the cache file /run/motd.dynamic. After being displayed, the scripts from /etc /update-motd.d are run to refresh /run/motd.dynamic. This behavior of displaying the cache first is not very convenient and didn't happen on Precise. This is also does not match the documentation (man 5 update- motd) nor the users' expectations. Steps to reproduce: $ cat << "EOF" | sudo tee /etc/update-motd.d/60-test #!/bin/sh printf "motd from: $(date +%T)\n" EOF $ sudo chmod +x /etc/update-motd.d/60-test $ echo 'echo "real time: $(date +%T)";exit' | ssh -T localhost Welcome to Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS (GNU/Linux 3.13.0-35-generic x86_64) * Documentation: https://help.ubuntu.com/ motd from: 6:05:43 real time: 12:36:14 The above is just an example of how old/stale the output can be. More details: $ lsb_release -rd Description: Ubuntu 14.04.1 LTS Release: 14.04 $ apt-cache policy libpam-modules libpam-modules: Installed: 1.1.8-1ubuntu2 Candidate: 1.1.8-1ubuntu2 Version table: *** 1.1.8-1ubuntu2 0 500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ trusty/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status ProblemType: Bug DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04 Package: libpam-modules 1.1.8-1ubuntu2 ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-36.63-generic 3.13.11.6 Uname: Linux 3.13.0-36-generic x86_64 ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3.4 Architecture: amd64 CurrentDesktop: Unity Date: Fri Sep 12 12:22:09 2014 InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-01-26 (228 days ago) InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Alpha amd64 (20140124) SourcePackage: pam UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/shadow/+bug/1368864/+subscriptions -- Mailing list: https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages Post to : touch-packages@lists.launchpad.net Unsubscribe : https://launchpad.net/~touch-packages More help : https://help.launchpad.net/ListHelp
