needrestart msg "The currently running kernel version is 5.11.0-16-generic which is not the expected kernel version %s"

[Frank Heimes]

If doing an upgrade from 20.10 to 21.04 (at step 'sudo apt install debconf-utils') or after having completed an pristine 21.04 install (image April 21st) from scratch and manually calling 'sudo apt install debconf-utils' a needrestart message pops-up:

  ┌────────────────────────┤ Pending kernel upgrade ├────────────────────────┐
  │ │
  │ Newer kernel available │
  │ │
  │ The currently running kernel version is 5.11.0-16-generic which is not │
  │ the expected kernel version %s. │
  │ │
  │ Restarting the system to load the new kernel will not be handled │
  │ automatically, so you should consider rebooting. │
  │ │
  │ <Ok> │
  │ │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

The "%s" is not expanded and the (content of the) message is a bit confusing.

[Julian Andres Klode (juliank)]

Kernel messaging is also confusing for livepatch users which might not have to reboot anyway

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

I tested this using an install of Ubuntu 21.10 and did not see the %s and instead saw the new kernel version. Is this still an issue for you?

[Frank Heimes (fheimes)]

Today I did two installations from scratch (autoinstall) and ran the following afterwards: 'sudo apt -y update && sudo apt -y full-upgrade'.
First with jammy/s390x (daily from 16th)
Package configuration
  ┌────────────────────────┤ Pending kernel upgrade ├────────────────────────┐
  │ │
  │ Newer kernel available │
  │ │
  │ The currently running kernel version is 5.13.0-19-generic which is not │
  │ the expected kernel version %s. │
  │ │
  │ Restarting the system to load the new kernel will not be handled │
  │ automatically, so you should consider rebooting. │
  │ │
  │ <Ok> │
  │ │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
and again with impish/s309x:
Package configuration
  ┌────────────────────────┤ Pending kernel upgrade ├────────────────────────┐
  │ │
  │ Newer kernel available │
  │ │
  │ The currently running kernel version is 5.13.0-25-generic which is not │
  │ the expected kernel version %s. │
  │ │
  │ Restarting the system to load the new kernel will not be handled │
  │ automatically, so you should consider rebooting. │
  │ │
  │ <Ok> │
  │ │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
(I used s390x, since I came across this while doing RC testing on s390x.)
As you can see, I can still see the "%s".

[Frank Heimes (fheimes)]

I just did a do-release-upgrade from impish to jammy (to check a different situation) and I've got the above message (with the "%s"), too:

  ┌────────────────────────┤ Pending kernel upgrade ├────────────────────────┐
  │ │
  │ Newer kernel available │
  │ │
  │ The currently running kernel version is 5.13.0-25-generic which is not │
  │ the expected kernel version %s. │
  │ │
  │ Restarting the system to load the new kernel will not be handled │
  │ automatically, so you should consider rebooting. │
  │ │
  │ <Ok> │
  │ │
  └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

[David Miller (zezuspam)]

Confirm, do-release-upgrade causes same issue for me on s390x (vps instance on LinuxONE)