I'm afraid this is leaving the realm of a bug report and entering one of support.
The upgrade path in the code can be seen in /var/lib/dpkg/info/mysql- server-5.7.postinst: start_server "$mysql_statedir" "$tmpdir" "skip_grant" || result=$? # If the server fails to start, then skip the various client operations if [ $result -ne 0 ]; then echo "Warning: Unable to start the server. Please restart MySQL and run mysql_upgrade to ensure the database is ready for use." >&2 else # mysql_upgrade returns exit status 2 if the database is already upgraded # (LP: #1566406) so ignore its exit status if it is 2. result=0 mysql_upgrade --no-defaults --socket="$tmpdir/mysqld.sock" || result=$? if [ $result -ne 0 -a $result -ne 2 ]; then echo "mysql_upgrade failed with exit status $result" >&2 stop_server "$tmpdir" rm -rf "$tmpdir" exit 1 fi # Stop the server stop_server "$tmpdir" fi I suppose you could try to replicate that mysql_upgrade command to see if you can clear the upgrade status, or maybe add the suggested --force parameter and try dpkg --configure -a again. And make sure there is no running mysql process. That being said, if purging and starting over is an option for you, that should also work. Just make sure you purge all packages (and not just remove). -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Server, which is subscribed to mysql-5.7 in Ubuntu. Matching subscriptions: main https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1817374 Title: mysql-server-5.7 5.7.25 upgrade did not complete properly To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/mysql-5.7/+bug/1817374/+subscriptions -- Ubuntu-server-bugs mailing list Ubuntu-server-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com Modify settings or unsubscribe at: https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-server-bugs