Public bug reported:
Ubuntu 26.04 time stuck at "past time" after VMware resume and fails to
auto-sync (Debian unaffected)
Problem Summary:
After suspending an Ubuntu 26.04 virtual machine in a VMware environment for a
period of time and then resuming it, the system time incorrectly stays at the
exact moment it was suspended (i.e., a "past time"). Despite the system time
being severely lagging, the default systemd-timesyncd service fails to detect
this anomaly, resulting in a failure to correct the time automatically.
Discovery Process:
I noticed abnormal timestamps in some logs after resuming the virtual machine.
When checking with the date command, I found that the system time displayed the
time point from a few days ago when I suspended the VM, rather than the current
real-time.
Confusingly, running timedatectl status still shows System clock synchronized:
yes. This indicates that the time synchronization service misjudged the current
state and failed to trigger a forced calibration.
Reproduction Steps:
1. Run an Ubuntu 26.04 virtual machine in VMware.
2. Confirm the current time is accurate, and record the current time using
the date command.
3. Perform a "Suspend" operation on the virtual machine and keep it
suspended for a period of time (e.g., a few days).
4. Resume the virtual machine.
5. Immediately enter the date command in the terminal.
* Actual Result: The displayed time is the time when it was suspended days
ago (past time).
* Expected Result: The current real-time should be displayed.
6. Enter timedatectl status.
* Actual Result: It displays System clock synchronized: yes, failing to
trigger a forced synchronization.
Comparative Testing (Important):
To rule out issues with the VMware host, I installed the latest version of
Debian in the exact same VMware environment and hardware configuration for a
comparative test.
* Debian's Behavior: The moment it resumes from the suspended state, Debian
instantly detects the time difference and automatically updates the time to the
latest correct time.
* Conclusion: This proves that VMware itself correctly passes the time signal.
The problem is highly likely related to the default time synchronization
configuration of Ubuntu 26.04 or the kernel mechanism for handling
suspend/resume events.
Expected Behavior:
After resuming from a suspended state, Ubuntu should behave like Debian: detect
the severe lag in the system clock, and force systemd-timesyncd to immediately
perform a step synchronization with the NTP server to correct the time to the
current time.
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 26.04
Package: systemd-timesyncd (not installed)
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 7.0.0-30.30-generic 7.0.12
Uname: Linux 7.0.0-30-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.34.1-0ubuntu0.1
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Wed Sep 9 17:21:16 2026
InstallationDate: Installed on 2026-08-14 (26 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 26.04 "Resolute Raccoon" - Release amd64 (20260423.1)
ProcEnviron:
LANG=zh_CN.UTF-8
PATH=(custom, no user)
SHELL=/bin/bash
TERM=xterm-256color
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
SourcePackage: systemd
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)
** Affects: systemd (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: amd64 apport-bug resolute wayland-session
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2166863
Title:
systemd-timesyncd fails to auto-correct large time drift after VMware
VM resume from suspend
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