package openssh-server 1:7.2p2-4 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

[Marcus]

Tried to install ssh.

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 16.04
Package: openssh-server 1:7.2p2-4
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.4.0-21.37-generic 4.4.6
Uname: Linux 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.20.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu May 5 23:29:32 2016
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
InstallationDate: Installed on 2016-05-01 (4 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 16.04 LTS "Xenial Xerus" - Release amd64 (20160420.1)
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.4ubuntu1
 apt 1.2.10ubuntu1
SourcePackage: openssh
Title: package openssh-server 1:7.2p2-4 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

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

[Christian Ehrhardt  (paelzer)]

Hi Marcus,
here from your log:
insserv: warning: script 'S20vpnserver' missing LSB tags and overrides
insserv: warning: script 'vpnserver' missing LSB tags and overrides
insserv: There is a loop at service plymouth if started
insserv: There is a loop between service plymouth and procps if started
insserv: loop involving service procps at depth 2
insserv: loop involving service udev at depth 1
insserv: There is a loop between service plymouth and urandom if started
insserv: loop involving service urandom at depth 4
insserv: loop involving service hwclock at depth 3
insserv: There is a loop between service vpnserver and udev if started
insserv: loop involving service mountkernfs at depth 1
insserv: There is a loop at service vpnserver if started
insserv: Starting vpnserver depends on plymouth and therefore on system facility `$all' which can not be true!
...
insserv: Starting vpnserver depends on plymouth and therefore on system facility `$all' which can not be true!
insserv: Max recursions depth 99 reached
insserv: loop involving service vpnserver at depth 1
insserv: There is a loop between service vpnserver and dns-clean if started
insserv: loop involving service dns-clean at depth 1
insserv: exiting now without changing boot order!
update-rc.d: error: insserv rejected the script header

At least according to my checks /etc/init.d/vpnserver is not part of any package, but in this file is the dependency loop trigger.
You can check if it belongs to a package with:
$ dpkg -S /etc/init.d/vpnserve

You need to sort that config issue out or remove the file if it is a remainder of some aborted experiments.

[Christian Ehrhardt  (paelzer)]

Thank you for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better.

On upgrading a service this service has to be restarted to pick up the fixes.
Rather rarely a real issue occurs that the newer version does e.g. fail with the formerly working configuration.
But most of the time what happens is, that a service was installed, but stays unconfigured or experimented with but left in a broken state.

Now on any update of the related packages that service has to be restarted, but since its config is incomplete/faulty it fails to restart.
Therefore the update of that package has to consider itself incomplete.

Depending on your particular case there are two solutions:
- either remove the offending package if you don't want to continue using it.
- Or if you do want to keep it please fix the configuration so that re-starting the service will work.

Since it seems likely to me that this is a local configuration problem, rather than a bug in Ubuntu, I'm marking this bug as Incomplete.

If indeed this is a local configuration problem, you can find pointers to get help for this sort of problem here: http://www.ubuntu.com/support/community

Or if you believe that this is really a bug, then you may find it helpful to read "How to report bugs effectively" http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html. We'd be grateful if you would then provide a more complete description of the problem, explain why you believe this is a bug in Ubuntu rather than a problem specific to your system, and then change the bug status back to New.

And finally this is not tied to openssh - anything that would insert init scripts would trigger the same issue.

[Christian Ehrhardt  (paelzer)]

@Marcus - I just realized your issue is rather old, but something made another user to say "I ahve the same issue" so I might at least have helped him in time :-/.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for openssh (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]