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Asked: 2021-11-12 12:47:37 +0800 CST

What is the definition of a "standard security update"? What other classifications are possible?

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Since recently upgrading to 20.04 I see informational messages after running apt update similar to

46 upgraded, 5 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
31 standard security updates

Googling has failed to turn up the definition of the phrase standard security update. What is it? And, are there non-standard security updates? What possibilities are there?

apt

2 Answers

  1. Best Answer

    Seems to a part of ubuntu-advantage-tools to distinguish between freely available security updates (standard) and ESM (paid, later, actual for 16.04 LTS).

    May be removed by removing special UA hook by

    sudo rm /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/20apt-esm-hook.conf

    Above will transform

    42 upgraded, 5 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.
29 standard security updates

    to normal traditional behaviour

    42 upgraded, 5 newly installed, 0 to remove and 0 not upgraded.

    All this UA ESM stuff on supported Ubuntu versions smells like big BUY word with capital letters.
    I found this unacceptable. Especially the viral behavior of UA:

    $ sudo apt autopurge ubuntu-advantage-tools
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree       
Reading state information... Done
The following packages will be REMOVED:
 distro-info* python3-debconf* ubuntu-advantage-tools* ubuntu-mate-core* ubuntu-mate-desktop* ubuntu-minimal* ubuntu-release-upgrader-core*
 ubuntu-release-upgrader-gtk* update-manager* update-manager-core* update-notifier* update-notifier-common*
0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 12 to remove and 41 not upgraded.
After this operation, 6 687 kB disk space will be freed.
Do you want to continue? [Y/n] n
Abort.

    I have reported a bug 1950692 about ubuntu-advantage-tools "integration".

    Clues:

    • 11

  2. You're right about standard security updates. Those are delivered in the Ubuntu Main respository for the initial 5 years of any Ubuntu LTS release. For example, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS benefits from it until 2025.

    The ESM security updates are indeed in a different category - they go beyond standard security updates. The access requires a subscription, but it doesn't necessarily mean that you will have to pay anything. Anyone can get a free subscription for personal use.

    To subscribe: https://ubuntu.com/advantage To learn more: https://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2021/09/ubuntu-16-04-security-updates-esm-for-free

    Full disclosure, I am a product manager at Canonical.

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