Public bug reported: An upgrade to gnome-shell on 18.10 was recently released which made it impossible for me to log in to my DE. Upon typing my password, the gdm screen would disappear, only to re-appear a few seconds later. This was not a password typo as I didn't get the usual msg to that effect (I made at least 5 attempts, carefully typing my passwd).
I solved the issue by switching to a terminal screen (using CTRL+ALT+F6 I believe), logging in, analyzing recent changes through /var/log/apt/history.log. Beside the gnome-shell packages, a handful of Wayland packages were also upgraded as follows (I use X.org so left those alone): Start-Date: 2018-12-19 09:13:20 Commandline: aptdaemon role='role-commit-packages' sender=':1.8821' Upgrade: libwayland-egl1:amd64 (1.16.0-1ubuntu1, 1.16.0-1ubuntu1.1), keybase:amd64 (2.11.0-20181204152506.f11f4191e3, 2.13.0-20181218221625.d72e065cbe), gnome-tweak-tool:amd64 (3.30.1-1, 3.30.2-0ubuntu1), gnome-tweaks:amd64 (3.30.1-1, 3.30.2-0ubuntu1), libwayland-client0:amd64 (1.16.0-1ubuntu1, 1.16.0-1ubuntu1.1), gnome-shell-common:amd64 (3.30.1-2ubuntu1, 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1), gnome-shell:amd64 (3.30.1-2ubuntu1, 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1), libwayland-server0:amd64 (1.16.0-1ubuntu1, 1.16.0-1ubuntu1.1), libwayland-cursor0:amd64 (1.16.0-1ubuntu1, 1.16.0-1ubuntu1.1) End-Date: 2018-12-19 09:13:31 I solved the issue by downgrading the just-updated gnome-shell packages as follows: sudo apt install gnome-shell-common=3.30.1-2ubuntu1 gnome- shell=3.30.1-2ubuntu1 Having done this, I switched back to the GDM screen and managed to log in as normal. I couldn't find any smoking gun in system logs but please let me know if there's a way to collect any useful debug info. One thing I'm using which differs from stock 18.10 is the System76 "Pop" theme (let me know if you need details). Presumably a theme cannot cause such issues and/or if the new version of gnome-shell is meant to be incompatible with themes other than Yaru, this should be clearly documented. The problematic versions are the "Candidate" shown below: gnome-shell: Installed: 3.30.1-2ubuntu1 Candidate: 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 Version table: 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 500 500 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic-updates/main amd64 Packages *** 3.30.1-2ubuntu1 500 500 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic/main amd64 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status gnome-shell-common: Installed: 3.30.1-2ubuntu1 Candidate: 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 Version table: 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 500 500 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic-updates/main amd64 Packages 500 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic-updates/main i386 Packages *** 3.30.1-2ubuntu1 500 500 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic/main amd64 Packages 500 http://ch.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu cosmic/main i386 Packages 100 /var/lib/dpkg/status ** Affects: gnome-shell (Ubuntu) Importance: Undecided Status: New ** Tags: cosmic regression-update ** Package changed: gnome (Ubuntu) => gnome-shell (Ubuntu) ** Summary changed: - gnome-shell 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 prevents DE access + gnome-shell 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 prevents DE access (unable to login) -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Desktop Bugs, which is subscribed to gnome-shell in Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1809092 Title: gnome-shell 3.30.1-2ubuntu1.18.10.1 prevents DE access (unable to login) To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-shell/+bug/1809092/+subscriptions -- desktop-bugs mailing list desktop-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/desktop-bugs
