check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1

ghc88

After not having any since my last post, I started seeing a few come through last night and this morning I’ve woken up to a few hundred of them. Version 2.8.1 and I can see packages.

stephenw10

Are you still seeing them now if you clear the existing alerts?

siemek

@stephenw10 After I cleared them and checked for updates manually, no.
But the same happened yesterday: I cleared around 1500, and it looked like no more were coming, then today I found over 4500.

fireodo

@stephenw10 said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Are you still seeing them now if you clear the existing alerts?

At the moment Nov 21 13:12:33 (CEST), No!

ghc88

@stephenw10 My last one was at 1132 GMT, so circa 45 mins ago.

stephenw10

Ok thanks. It looks like there was a backend change. Digging....

stephenw10

Ok reverted whilst we did into the root cause. You shouldn't see any further alerts.

stevo11811

Looks like I am another user of the same problem on a few of our firewalls, one says the license is expired which is confusing since it doesn't expire for another two months. it says Community support now instead of PFSense + even though its clearly still on Plus.

If I review the rest of the fleet and find this same issue its going to be the nail in the coffin for us.

JeGr

@stephenw10 said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Ok reverted whilst we did into the root cause. You shouldn't see any further alerts.

I have to add me to the choir. Had the same problem some time ago, then was silent until today. Now I'm getting a message every time the system does an update check or package check etc.
System shows it's registered, so no license issue (latest plus is on) and package manager shows packages to install.

System Update flip/flops between unable to check and no updates available, but every time something with "pkg" in the background is done, the counter hops up:

Every click in the package manager adds another one etc.

Opened the WebGUI to 1421 messages -.-

stephenw10

@stevo11811 said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

one says the license is expired

OK that's a different symptom. Send me your NDI in chat and I'll check it.

I'll note that 'Community Support' is still valid in Plus though. It just means you don't have Pro or Ent support.

JeGr

@stephenw10 Think I found the culprit:

pkg-2.2.2_2 Package manager

PKG has over-updated itself again. So the non-static binary now throws ELF errors around again :(
That was already a problem multiple times. Someone done a repository change/update again?

Fixing it with pkg-static also seems not to work (by using install -f pkg) as pkg-static throws unknown errors:

pkg-static install -f pkg
Updating pfSense-core repository catalogue...
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
repository pfSense-core has no meta file, using default settings
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
Unable to update repository pfSense-core
Updating pfSense repository catalogue...
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
repository pfSense has no meta file, using default settings
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
Unable to update repository pfSense
Error updating repositories!

stephenw10

@JeGr said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Every click in the package manager adds another one etc.

Opened the WebGUI to 1421 messages -.-

Yikes! I wouldn't expect that many update checks even if it is failing every time.

But try running: pfSense-repoc -ND and pkg-static -d update and see what errors are shown.

If it's failing every time like that it may have lost the repo conf data or by trying to use invalid data.

JeGr

@stephenw10 said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

pkg-static -d update

OS: FreeBSD
OS Version: 15.0-CURRENT
Platform: amd64
Product: Netgate pfSense Plus
Version: 25.07.1-RELEASE
FS type: zfs
Language: en_US
Model: unknown hardware
NDI: 42511b9e4f5917f3c4ec
Package prefix: pfSense-pkg-
Serial: (null)
Repo path: /usr/local/etc/pfSense
Request query: {"platform":"unknown hardware","os":"FreeBSD","osver":"15.0-CURRENT","prod":"Netgate pfSense Plus","ver":"25.07.1-RELEASE","ed":"Plus","fstype":"zfs","pkgs":"[{\"name\":\"nut\",\"ver\":\"2.8.2_5\"},{\"name\":\"Cron\",\"ver\":\"0.3.8_6\"},{\"name\":\"acme\",\"ver\":\"1.0\"},{\"name\":\"nmap\",\"ver\":\"1.4.4_8\"},{\"name\":\"sudo\",\"ver\":\"0.3_10\"},{\"name\":\"Filer\",\"ver\":\"0.60.6_9\"},{\"name\":\"Nexus\",\"ver\":\"25.07.1_1\"},{\"name\":\"Notes\",\"ver\":\"0.2.9_5\"},{\"name\":\"lldpd\",\"ver\":\"0.9.11_3\"},{\"name\":\"haproxy\",\"ver\":\"0.63_11\"},{\"name\":\"Shellcmd\",\"ver\":\"1.0.5_4\"},{\"name\":\"arpwatch\",\"ver\":\"0.2.3\"},{\"name\":\"Tailscale\",\"ver\":\"0.1.8\"},{\"name\":\"WireGuard\",\"ver\":\"0.2.9_5\"},{\"name\":\"mtr-nox11\",\"ver\":\"0.85.6_5\"},{\"name\":\"RRD_Summary\",\"ver\":\"2.2\"},{\"name\":\"freeradius3\",\"ver\":\"0.15.14\"},{\"name\":\"System_Patches\",\"ver\":\"2.2.23\"},{\"name\":\"Service_Watchdog\",\"ver\":\"1.8.7_4\"},{\"name\":\"pfBlockerNG-devel\",\"ver\":\"3.2.10\"},{\"name\":\"openvpn-client-export\",\"ver\":\"1.9.5\"},{\"name\":\"openvpn-client-import\",\"ver\":\"1.2_3\"}]"}
POST data: uid=42511b9e4f5917f3c4ec&language=en_US&serial=&version=%7B%22platform%22%3A%22unknown+hardware%22%2C%22os%22%3A%22FreeBSD%22%2C%22osver%22%3A%2215.0-CURRENT%22%2C%22prod%22%3A%22Netgate+pfSense+Plus%22%2C%22ver%22%3A%2225.07.1-RELEASE%22%2C%22ed%22%3A%22Plus%22%2C%22fstype%22%3A%22zfs%22%2C%22pkgs%22%3A%22%5B%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22nut%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%222.8.2_5%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Cron%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.3.8_6%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22acme%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%221.0%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22nmap%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%221.4.4_8%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22sudo%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.3_10%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Filer%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.60.6_9%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Nexus%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%2225.07.1_1%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Notes%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.2.9_5%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22lldpd%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.9.11_3%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22haproxy%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.63_11%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Shellcmd%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%221.0.5_4%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22arpwatch%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.2.3%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Tailscale%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.1.8%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22WireGuard%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.2.9_5%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22mtr-nox11%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.85.6_5%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22RRD_Summary%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%222.2%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22freeradius3%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%220.15.14%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22System_Patches%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%222.2.23%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22Service_Watchdog%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%221.8.7_4%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22pfBlockerNG-devel%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%223.2.10%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22openvpn-client-export%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%221.9.5%5C%22%7D%2C%7B%5C%22name%5C%22%3A%5C%22openvpn-client-import%5C%22%2C%5C%22ver%5C%22%3A%5C%221.2_3%5C%22%7D%5D%22%7D&arch=amd64
[25.07.1-RELEASE][root@mirage.nt.ops.to]/root: pkg-static -d update
Updating pfSense-core repository catalogue...
DBG(1)[16390]> PkgRepo: verifying update for pfSense-core
DBG(1)[16390]> Pkgrepo, begin update of '/var/db/pkg/repos/pfSense-core/db'
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Request to fetch pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v25_07_1_amd64-core/meta.conf
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Fetch: fetcher used: pkg+https
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Request to fetch pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v25_07_1_amd64-core/meta.txz
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Fetch: fetcher used: pkg+https
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
repository pfSense-core has no meta file, using default settings
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Request to fetch pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v25_07_1_amd64-core/data.pkg
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Fetch: fetcher used: pkg+https
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Request to fetch pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v25_07_1_amd64-core/data.tzst
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Fetch: fetcher used: pkg+https
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Request to fetch pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v25_07_1_amd64-core/packagesite.pkg
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Fetch: fetcher used: pkg+https
pkg-static: An error occurred while fetching package: Unknown error
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Request to fetch pkg+https://pfsense-plus-pkg.netgate.com/pfSense_plus-v25_07_1_amd64-core/packagesite.tzst
DBG(1)[16390]> (fetch) Fetch: fetcher used: pkg+https
^C

As described, pkg-static throws unknown errors. And "normal" pkg is in an unusable state as its too high for the current repo -> ld.elf errors.

stephenw10

Yes the lib errors for the non-statically linked pkg are normal if an update was ever seen. But pkg-static is provided for that reason.

However you're hitting something different there. 'Unknown error' is unfortunately unhelpful!

Try resaving the package repo branch.

JeGr

@stephenw10 said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Yes the lib errors for the non-statically linked pkg are normal if an update was ever seen. But pkg-static is provided for that reason.

However you're hitting something different there. 'Unknown error' is unfortunately unhelpful!

Try resaving the package repo branch.

Other than producing new errors again, that does unfortunately nothing

Switching to the RC instead brings a simple

/pkg_mgr_install.php: The command '/usr/local/sbin/pfSense-repo-setup -U' returned exit code '12', the output was ''

and switching back to 25.7.1 still does nothing new.

stephenw10

Hmm, I hit this on one test VM but after rebooting it was able to connect fine so I was never able to troubleshoot further. Are you able to reboot that as a test?

Spacecase

I'm running CE version 2.8.1 and just got one of these messages. Here are some observations:

Here's the message:

"check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1 @ 2025-11-21 02:17:59"

When I go to this page...

https://docs.netgate.com/pfsense/en/latest/releases/versions.html#id5

...I see this:

When I check "page info" on my browser, I see this:

Note the timestamps.

JeGr

@Spacecase said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Note the timestamps.

So? An update to the release notes documentation page doesn't mean anything. Also others have other timestamps as they were checking their systems at other times.
In addition I have the same problem running plus where the 25.11 docs page is up for days/weeks. Nothing to see there.

@stephenw10 said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Hmm, I hit this on one test VM but after rebooting it was able to connect fine so I was never able to troubleshoot further. Are you able to reboot that as a test?

That's a nope. For the reboot-fixing-stuff. Just rebootet the device - came up again, still does have the errors popping up.

stephenw10

@JeGr said in check_upgrade: "Updating repositories metadata" returned error code 1:

Just rebootet the device - came up again, still does have the errors popping up.

Hmm. I assume general connectivity is good. Can resolve hosts. Ping ews.netgate.com etc?

Spacecase

@JeGr These were my observations. For all I know, the change that triggered the error code could be related to something else occurring in another repository at the same time. Or, it could be a clue to a common mode fault. Do you know how often pfSense polls updates?