Strange warning about /proc/version_signature when using Ubuntu Pro
Hi,
I have a VM running Ubuntu 16.04 LTS with Ubuntu Pro and an ESM subscription (for infrastructure), which was created from a Linode image some time ago:
$ lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 16.04.7 LTS
Release: 16.04
Codename: xenial
$ uname -rvs
Linux 5.19.2-x86_64-linode156 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Thu Aug 18 15:51:13 EDT 2022
Now, when I check the status of my Ubuntu Pro tool, I see this (note the 2 WARNING lines + the ,ention about livepatch support at the beginning):
$ sudo pro security-status
WARNING:root:failed to process /proc/version_signature.
WARNING:root:Failed to parse kernel: 5.19.2-x86_64-linode156
unable to determine enough kernel information to check livepatch support
673 packages installed:
631 packages from Ubuntu Main/Restricted repository
41 packages from Ubuntu Universe/Multiverse repository
1 package from a third party
To get more information about the packages, run
pro security-status --help
for a list of available options.
This machine is attached to an Ubuntu Pro subscription.
Main/Restricted packages are receiving security updates from
Ubuntu Pro with 'esm-infra' enabled until 2026. You have received 234 security
updates.
Ubuntu Pro with 'esm-apps' enabled provides security updates for
Universe/Multiverse packages until 2026.
Enable esm-apps with: pro enable esm-apps
I am getting ESM security updates for infra (I can see it in my unattended-upgrades logs), so at least that is working fine.
But what do these first 3 lines mean, and why am I seeing this (I don't recall seeing this say 1 year ago or so, when I was also already using ESM updates)?
Any idea? Advice?
Thanks!
Koen
2 Replies
mtcotton846
Linode Staff
Hey Koen,
Can you share the output of that directory (if it exists?)
I do not have a definitive answer, but I saw an identical question to yours on askubuntu which talks about this in a bit more detail:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1438996/failed-to-process-proc-version-signature
I also suspect that the kernel version you are using does not have official support with Ubuntu Pro:
https://ubuntu.com/security/livepatch/docs/livepatch/reference/kernels
One caveat I should mention is that I do not pay for an Ubuntu Pro subscription, so I am a bit limited in my ability to run troubleshooting tests, but I think this information will likely point you in the right direction.
-Micah
Thanks for your answer and sorry for the late reply!
With "that directory", do you mean /proc/version_signature ? That doesn't exist.
What does exist is /proc/version (a file), and its contents is the following:
$ cat /proc/version
Linux version 6.1.10-x86_64-linode159 (maker@build.linode.com) (gcc (Debian 8.3.0-6) 8.3.0, GNU ld (GNU Binutils for Debian) 2.31.1) #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed Feb 8 14:14:45 EST 2023
Apparently, in the meantime (maybe because I rebooted my machine recently), I see this as version now:
$ uname -rvs
Linux 6.1.10-x86_64-linode159 #1 SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Wed Feb 8 14:14:45 EST 2023
(or maybe because it's a VM and the underlying kernel changed? not so sure how this works exactly with Linode VMs)
Weird that the kernel would not have official support with Ubuntu Pro, as it was just a standard kernel that was offered by Linode when I created the machine, not some special kernel I chose.
I do get ESM updates via unattended-upgrades regularly with my Ubuntu Pro subscription.
I also read that thread you pointed to, but to be honest, I don't understand much of it…
My main worry is: could this have serious implications for my machine, or not?