Systemd logs warnings about the legacy tmpfile location /var/run

Solution Verified - Updated -

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
  • Systemd version systemd-239 and above

  • And any package referencing /var/run. Note the following package list includes known effected packages but is not limited to the following list;

    • libstoragemgmt-1.6.2-9.el8.x86_64
    • mdadm-4.1-4.el8.x86_64
    • net-snmp-5.8-7.el8.x86_64
    • radvd-2.17-12.el8.x86_64
    • subscription-manager-1.23.8-35.el8.x86_64
    • krb5-libs-1.18.2-8.el8
    • 389-ds-base-1.4
    • IPA
    • unbound-1.7.3-8.el8
    • certmonger

Issue

  • Every time the systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service is started, multiple messages are printed to logs:

    May 13 17:55:57 rhel8 systemd[1]: Starting Cleanup of Temporary Directories...
May 13 17:55:57 rhel8 systemd-tmpfiles[31007]: [/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/<PACKAGE NAME>.conf:1] Line references path below legacy directory /var/run/, updating /var/run/<PATH> → /run/<PATH>; please update the tmpfiles.d/ drop-in file accordingly.

Resolution

Note The message is informational and should not indicate any failure of operations.

  • Due to the systemd change, any package using /var/run will need to be updated to attempt to remove the logs.

  • The following is a non-comprehensive list of packages and their errata with updates addressing the logs;

  • To determine which package provides the /var/run/<FILE>/ location, running the following command will provide a list of all packages which provide the noted file wherein an update may be performed to determine if the warning no longer occurs after the update;

    # dnf whatprovides /var/run/<FILE>/
# dnf whatprovides /var/run/rhsm    # this is an example and should list the subscription-manager package

Workaround

  • The following command could be used as a temporary workaround. It would create corresponding configuration files under /etc/tmpfiles.d/* with a correct path:

    # sed "s/\/var\/run\//\/run\//g" /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/<PACKAGE NAME>.conf > /etc/tmpfiles.d/<PACKAGE NAME>.conf

    • The following example changes the configurations for the pesign package:

      # systemctl restart systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service    # reproduces the logs

# journalctl -a -b 0 | grep 'Line references'    # find the warning log
Sep 10 13:46:46 r8 systemd-tmpfiles[738]: [/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/pesign.conf:1] Line references path below legacy directory /var/run/, updating /var/run/pesign → /run/pesign; please update the tmpfiles.d/ drop-in file accordingly.

# sed "s/\/var\/run\//\/run\//g" /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/pesign.conf > /etc/tmpfiles.d/pesign.conf    # change the config

# systemctl restart systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service    # reproduces the logs if not changed

# journalctl -a -b 0 | grep 'Line references'    # we only see the prior log and not a new one!
Sep 10 13:46:46 r8 systemd-tmpfiles[738]: [/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/pesign.conf:1] Line references path below legacy directory /var/run/, updating /var/run/pesign → /run/pesign; please update the tmpfiles.d/ drop-in file accordingly.

    • Consider deleting of the configuration file /etc/tmpfiles.d/<PACKAGE NAME>.conf after corresponding erratas would be published for the required package if the workaround was implemented in the target environment.

Root Cause

  • The upstream github systemd commit introduced a notice-level log warning about the use of /var/run for tmpfiles while also fixing up conflicts with how tmpfiles merge lines.
  • /var/run/ is indeed a legacy directory due to being fully symlinked to/run`, its use is still valid outside of systemd. As such, nothing breaks.
  • Many application stacks and packages reference /var/tmp still and thus require an update to address the log.

Diagnostic Steps

The issue is easily reproducible with the following steps;

  1. Restart systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service

    # systemctl restart systemd-tmpfiles-clean.service

  2. Check the logs afterwards

    • For systems using rsyslog:

      # grep "Line references path below legacy directory /var/run/" /var/log/messages
May 17 14:54:20 rhel8 systemd-tmpfiles[30687]: [/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/mdadm.conf:1] Line references path below legacy directory /var/run/, updating /var/run/mdadm → /run/mdadm; please update the tmpfiles.d/ drop-in file accordingly.

    • For other systems:

      # journalctl -a -b 0 | grep 'Line references'
Sep 10 13:46:46 r8 systemd-tmpfiles[738]: [/usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/pesign.conf:1] Line references path below legacy directory /var/run/, updating /var/run/pesign → /run/pesign; please update the tmpfiles.d/ drop-in file accordingly.

This solution is part of Red Hat’s fast-track publication program, providing a huge library of solutions that Red Hat engineers have created while supporting our customers. To give you the knowledge you need the instant it becomes available, these articles may be presented in a raw and unedited form.

Comments