Package: dpkg
Version: 1.21.22
Severity: important
X-Debbugs-Cc: jservis82@gmail.com
On multiple Debian 12 (Bookworm) systems, the dpkg-db-backup.service
unit begins running at midnight and enters a rapid restart loop. This
causes systemd (PID 1) to consume excessive CPU (often 100%) until
systemd's start-limit-hit is triggered.
The service logs show that it starts and deactivates "successfully",
but systemd appears to consider it a failure and restarts it repeatedly.
This creates rapid log entries, spawns processes, and can overwhelm lightweight systems (e.g., virtual machines).
Steps to reproduce:
1. Let a Debian 12 system idle until midnight with the default timer
enabled
2. Observe CPU usage via `top` or `htop` (systemd will be at or near 100%)
3. Check `journalctl -u dpkg-db-backup.service` for repeated start/fail
cycles
Workaround:
Disabling the timer and masking the service resolves the issue:
'sudo systemctl disable --now dpkg-db-backup.timer sudo systemctl mask dpkg-db-backup.service'
This behavior affects both virtual and physical Debian 12 machines that
have not been modified beyond using Docker and standard updates. Please investigate whether the unit file needs an adjusted Restart= policy or
if the script exits too quickly to be considered successful.
Sysop: | Keyop |
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