I've run into the same problem, although I'm using cowbuilder-dist instead of pbuilder-dist on Ubuntu 16.04. I've attached a log.
Possibly worth noting - both 18.04 (bionic) and 14.04 (trusty) build correctly - it's only 16.04 (xenial) that fails. However, both "cowbuilder-dist create trusty" and "cowbuilder-dist create bionic" also generate a similar "Distribution data outdated" warning as the first line of output (as Alexis also mentioned). ** Attachment added: "Log of "cowbuilder-dist xenial create" on Ubuntu 16.04" https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-dev-tools/+bug/1799859/+attachment/5206128/+files/cowbuilder-dist--xenial--create.log -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1799859 Title: "pbuilder-dist create xenial" fails (Unutu 16.04) since Oct 17, 2018 To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/ubuntu-dev-tools/+bug/1799859/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs