Update manager doesn't ask for password

**s1wood** · June 13th, 2012

I've just started using the XFCE desktop on 12.04 and am finding that the update manager isn't asking me for a password for the updates. This seems like a security weakness - is there any way of correcting it?

Susan

**MG&TL** · June 13th, 2012

Update manager by default doesn't ask for sudo password unless you're installing/removing, rather than updating software. I think there's some dbus(?) cleverness going on there to make that happen. Something to do with Windows users and the updater being automatic?

Anyway, if you want to need to use the root password, you can either use synaptic, or the command-line bindings:

Code:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get upgrade

**afixane** · June 13th, 2012

Yeah, that happen to me, to

anyway, just write this on your terminal

Code:

sudo apt-get upgrade

**MG&TL** · June 13th, 2012

Originally Posted by afixane

Yeah, that happen to me, to

anyway, just write this on your terminal

Code:

sudo apt-get upgrade

You'll want to prepend:

Code:

sudo apt-get update

to check for any updates available on the server first.

**philinux** · June 13th, 2012

Originally Posted by s1wood

I've just started using the XFCE desktop on 12.04 and am finding that the update manager isn't asking me for a password for the updates. This seems like a security weakness - is there any way of correcting it?

Susan

This is perfectly normal. This change happened a couple of releases back. The argument being why ask for a password if it's updating software that is is already installed.

If however a new kernel is being installed, for example ,then it will prompt for a password.

**steveferson** · October 20th, 2012

I'm having a similar but different problem.

Update Manager doesn't ask for a password but then doesn't update anything after I click Install Updates!

I have to open a terminal and run

Code:

sudo update-manager

Then it works... have I done something wrong to cause this?

**brabender** · January 9th, 2013

Originally Posted by steveferson

I'm having a similar but different problem.

Update Manager doesn't ask for a password but then doesn't update anything after I click Install Updates!

I have to open a terminal and run

Code:

sudo update-manager

Then it works... have I done something wrong to cause this?

Bump... Same problem here. Running update manager from GUI and then checking or installing updates makes the program freeze. Running from terminal with

Code:

sudo update-manager

and it works without problem. Running from GUI in Cinnamon, Unity and Gnome Classic in the same computer it works too (I'm still trying desktops to replace Gnome 2, so far XFCE seems to be the best choice)