gnome-software crash at startup: Gs failed to call gs_plugin_add_updates_historical on fwupd

[Theor]

When starting gnome-software, the GUI displays for a second or two, then the program crashes.

Starting from a terminal:
==============================================
~$ gnome-software
10:44:25:0971 Gtk Theme parsing error: gtk.css:1278:13: The 'icon-shadow' property has been renamed to '-gtk-icon-shadow'
10:44:25:0971 Gtk Theme parsing error: gtk.css:1281:15: The 'icon-shadow' property has been renamed to '-gtk-icon-shadow'
10:44:26:0850 Gs enabled plugins: packagekit-url-to-app, packagekit-local, packagekit, packagekit-refresh, desktop-categories, systemd-updates, shell-extensions, ubuntuone, packagekit-upgrade, packagekit-offline, packagekit-refine-repos, os-release, fwupd, packagekit-proxy, appstream, steam, hardcoded-featured, generic-updates, hardcoded-popular, hardcoded-blacklist, ubuntu-reviews, rewrite-resource, packagekit-refine, desktop-menu-path, modalias, snap, provenance, packagekit-history, provenance-license, icons, key-colors, key-colors-metadata
10:44:26:0850 Gs disabled plugins: dummy, repos, dpkg, odrs, epiphany
10:44:27:0048 Gs failed to call gs_plugin_add_updates_historical on fwupd: failed to build result for b14589ec7f862a4e461e6da0da9ecb713097344d
10:44:27:0842 GLib g_str_has_prefix: assertion 'prefix != NULL' failed
10:44:27:0875 GLib g_str_has_prefix: assertion 'prefix != NULL' failed
10:44:27:0903 Gs Only 0 apps for recent list, hiding
Segmentation fault (core dumped)
==============================================

I tried uninstalling and reinstalling fwupd, which didn't correct the problem. Also Gnome-software will complain and close if fwupd isn't available.

Attached /var/crash/_usr_bin_gnome-software.1000.crash

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 18.04
Package: gnome-software 3.28.1-0ubuntu4.18.04.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.15.0-32.35-generic 4.15.18
Uname: Linux 4.15.0-32-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.9-0ubuntu7.2
Architecture: amd64
CurrentDesktop: communitheme:ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Wed Aug 22 12:45:09 2018
EcryptfsInUse: Yes
InstallationDate: Installed on 2018-07-22 (30 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 18.04 LTS "Bionic Beaver" - Release amd64 (20180426)
InstalledPlugins:
 gnome-software-plugin-flatpak N/A
 gnome-software-plugin-limba N/A
 gnome-software-plugin-snap 3.28.1-0ubuntu4.18.04.1
SourcePackage: gnome-software
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

I can't seem to manage to extract a useful backtrace from the crash file, even with debug symbols attached.

@Theor: can you still reproduce the crash with the latest gnome-software update (3.28.1-0ubuntu4.18.04.2) ?

If so, can you install debug symbols (gnome-software-dbgsym) following the instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingProgramCrash#Non-built-in_debug_symbol_packages_.28.2A-dbgsym.29 and then run it through gdb to try and obtain a backtrace:

    killall gnome-software
    gdb /usr/bin/gnome-software
    (gdb) run
    [wait for the crash to happen]
    (gdb) t a a bt

and share the output here. Thanks!

[Theor (theor)]

Indeed the last update solved this issue, gnome-software now works fine. It also doesn't output any message on the terminal anymore.

If the problem was to happen again I will follow your instructions and upload the backtrace.

Thank you, you can close this bug report.

[Olivier Tilloy (osomon)]

Thanks Theor. I'm closing the bug, feel free to re-open if the crash were to happen again.