`updatectl update` sometimes fails, dumps core and reports "Permission denied" (even with sudo)
I ran `sudo updatectl update`, which eventually failed with the message:
`host@202605220919: `**`✗`**` Permission denied`\
\
which is a bit weird when running with `sudo`.
Looking at the journal output (excerpts below) it seems that:
* there was a failed transfer ("Timeout was reached")
* the update process dumped core
* `drkonqi-coredump-processor` failed to find a socket it was looking for
...and perhaps one of these things was reported up as a permission error?
```
May 22 11:01:19 systemd[1]: Starting System Update Service...
May 22 11:01:19 systemd[1]: Started System Update Service.
May 22 11:01:19 audit[1]: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=systemd-sysupdated comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:01:19 kernel: audit: type=1130 audit(1779444079.785:228): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=systemd-sysupdated comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:01:19 systemd-sysupdated[16697]: Started job 1 with worker PID 16730
May 22 11:01:19 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Discovering installed instances…
May 22 11:01:19 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Discovering available instances…
May 22 11:01:19 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: \ Acquiring manifest file https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS…
May 22 11:01:19 systemd-pull[16731]: Pulling 'https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS'.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Downloading 631B for https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Downloading 119B for https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Acquired 631B for https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Download of https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS complete.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Acquired 119B for https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Download of https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg complete.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-sysupdated[16736]: gpg: Signature made Fri May 22 10:32:15 2026 BST
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-sysupdated[16736]: gpg: using EDDSA key 15AB3EE61CE450CFED1407BF4121B5F4EAEB53CA
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-sysupdated[16736]: gpg: Good signature from "KDE Linux <linux@kde.org>" [unknown]
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-sysupdated[16736]: gpg: WARNING: Using untrusted key!
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Signature verification succeeded.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Operation completed successfully.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16731]: Exiting.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: \ Acquiring manifest file http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS…
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16737]: Pulling 'http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS'.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd[1]: Started KDE Linux Update Service.
May 22 11:01:20 audit[1]: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=kde-linux-sysupdated comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:01:20 kernel: audit: type=1130 audit(1779444080.745:229): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=kde-linux-sysupdated comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: 2026/05/22 11:01:20 Cache doesn't exist yet, creating it: open /run/kde-linux-sysupdated/globalCache.json: no such file or directory
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: 2026/05/22 11:01:20 Failed to read config, using defaults open /run/kde-linux-sysupdated/config.yaml: no such file or directory
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: 2026/05/22 11:01:20 Failed to watch config file: no such file or directory
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: 2026/05/22 11:01:20 Ready to rumble...
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: 2026/05/22 11:01:20 starting servers
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:20+01:00" level=warning msg="Requested file:/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.sha256.asc"
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:20+01:00" level=warning msg="Using URL:https://files.kde.org/kde-linux//sysupdate/v2"
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: [GIN] 2026/05/22 - 11:01:20 | 307 | 32.731µs | 127.0.0.1 | GET "/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.sha256.asc"
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:20+01:00" level=warning msg="Requested file:/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS"
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:20+01:00" level=warning msg="Using URL:https://files.kde.org/kde-linux//sysupdate/v2"
May 22 11:01:20 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: [GIN] 2026/05/22 - 11:01:20 | 307 | 47.029µs | 127.0.0.1 | GET "/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS"
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16737]: Downloading 631B for http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16737]: Acquired 631B for http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.
May 22 11:01:20 systemd-pull[16737]: Download of http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS complete.
May 22 11:01:21 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:21+01:00" level=warning msg="Requested file:/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.sha256.gpg"
May 22 11:01:21 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:21+01:00" level=warning msg="Using URL:https://files.kde.org/kde-linux//sysupdate/v2"
May 22 11:01:21 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: [GIN] 2026/05/22 - 11:01:21 | 307 | 39.755µs | 127.0.0.1 | GET "/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.sha256.gpg"
May 22 11:01:21 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:21+01:00" level=warning msg="Requested file:/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg"
May 22 11:01:21 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:21+01:00" level=warning msg="Using URL:https://files.kde.org/kde-linux//sysupdate/v2"
May 22 11:01:21 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: [GIN] 2026/05/22 - 11:01:21 | 307 | 36.338µs | 127.0.0.1 | GET "/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg"
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16737]: Downloading 119B for http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16737]: Acquired 119B for http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16737]: Download of http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/SHA256SUMS.gpg complete.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdated[16755]: gpg: Signature made Fri May 22 10:32:15 2026 BST
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdated[16755]: gpg: using EDDSA key 15AB3EE61CE450CFED1407BF4121B5F4EAEB53CA
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdated[16755]: gpg: Good signature from "KDE Linux <linux@kde.org>" [unknown]
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdated[16755]: gpg: WARNING: Using untrusted key!
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16737]: Signature verification succeeded.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16737]: Operation completed successfully.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16737]: Exiting.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Determining installed update sets…
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Determining available update sets…
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Selected update '202605220919' for install.
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Making room for 1 updates…
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: ~ Removing old '/system/kde-linux_202605170254.erofs' (regular-file).
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: ~ Removing old '/system/kde-linux_202605210254.erofs.caibx' (regular-file).
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: ~ Removing old '/boot/EFI/Linux/kde-linux_202605160254.efi' (regular-file).
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: \ Acquiring https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx → /system/kde-linux_202605220919.erofs.caibx...
May 22 11:01:21 systemd-pull[16756]: Pulling 'https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx', saving as '/system/.sysupdate.partial.kde-linux_202605220919.erofs.caibx'.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16756]: Downloading 99.3K for https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16756]: Got 14% of https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16756]: Acquired 99.3K for https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16756]: Download of https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx complete.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16756]: Operation completed successfully.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16756]: Exiting.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: Successfully acquired 'https://files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.caibx'.
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: \ Acquiring http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.erofs → /system/kde-linux_202605220919.erofs...
May 22 11:01:22 systemd-pull[16759]: Pulling 'http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.erofs', saving as '/system/.sysupdate.partial.kde-linux_202605220919.erofs'.
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Requested file:/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.erofs"
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Using URL:https://files.kde.org/kde-linux//sysupdate/v2"
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Redirecting to URL: https://cdn.files.kde.org/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2"
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Using remote index store atkde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.erofs"
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Using erofs as seedkde-linux_202605180102.erofs"
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Using erofs as seedkde-linux_202605210254.erofs"
May 22 11:01:22 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:22+01:00" level=warning msg="Failed to get index forkde-linux_202605210254.erofs:open /system/kde-linux_202605210254.erofs.caibx: no such file or directory"
May 22 11:01:26 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: 2026/05/22 11:01:26 Store is disabled by configuration
May 22 11:01:26 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:26+01:00" level=warning msg="Plan with holes: 379 segments for 2541 chunks"
May 22 11:01:26 kde-linux-sysupdated[16738]: time="2026-05-22T11:01:26+01:00" level=warning msg="Local 4162 MiB; 189 segments | Remote 2553 MiB; 190 segments"
May 22 11:01:32 systemd-pull[16759]: Downloading 6.5G for http://localhost:3129/kde-linux/sysupdate/v2/kde-linux_202605220919_root-x86-64.erofs.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-pull[16759]: Transfer failed: Timeout was reached
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-pull[16759]: Failed to retrieve image file.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-pull[16759]: Exiting.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdate[16730]: (sd-pull-raw) failed with exit status 1: Input/output error
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdated[16697]: Started job 2 with worker PID 17041
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdate[17041]: Discovering installed instances…
May 22 11:02:39 audit[17041]: ANOM_ABEND auid=4294967295 uid=0 gid=0 ses=4294967295 pid=17041 comm="systemd-sysupda" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysupdate" sig=6 res=1
May 22 11:02:39 kernel: audit: type=1701 audit(1779444159.875:234): auid=4294967295 uid=0 gid=0 ses=4294967295 pid=17041 comm="systemd-sysupda" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd-sysupdate" sig=6 res=1
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdate[17041]: Determining installed update sets…
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdate[17041]: Selected update '202605220919' for install.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdate[17041]: Assertion 'inst' failed at src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c:1174, function context_process_partial_and_pending(). Aborting.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-coredump[17042]: Process 17041 (systemd-sysupda) of user 0 terminated abnormally with signal 6/ABRT, processing...
May 22 11:02:39 systemd[1]: Created slice Slice /system/drkonqi-coredump-processor.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd[1]: Created slice Slice /system/systemd-coredump.
May 22 11:02:39 systemd[1]: Started Process Core Dump (PID 17042/UID 0).
May 22 11:02:39 audit[1]: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=systemd-coredump@0-4111-17042_1586-0 comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:02:39 systemd[1]: Started Pass systemd-coredump journal entries to relevant user for potential DrKonqi handling.
May 22 11:02:39 audit[1]: SERVICE_START pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=drkonqi-coredump-processor@0-4111-17042_1586-0 comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:02:39 kernel: audit: type=1130 audit(1779444159.886:242): pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=drkonqi-coredump-processor@0-4111-17042_1586-0 comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-coredump[17043]: Process 17041 (systemd-sysupda) of user 0 dumped core.
Stack trace of thread 17041:
#0 0x00007f026999329c n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x9a29c)
#1 0x00007f02699377d0 raise (libc.so.6 + 0x3e7d0)
#2 0x00007f026991e681 abort (libc.so.6 + 0x25681)
#3 0x00007f0269c58a4c n/a (libsystemd-shared-260.1-2.so + 0x93a4c)
#4 0x000055b77da749b9 n/a (/lib/systemd/systemd-sysupdate + 0x179b9)
#5 0x000055b77da795bb n/a (/lib/systemd/systemd-sysupdate + 0x1c5bb)
#6 0x000055b77da6511b n/a (/lib/systemd/systemd-sysupdate + 0x811b)
#7 0x00007f0269920741 n/a (libc.so.6 + 0x27741)
#8 0x00007f0269920879 __libc_start_main (libc.so.6 + 0x27879)
#9 0x000055b77da653b5 n/a (/lib/systemd/systemd-sysupdate + 0x83b5)
ELF object binary architecture: AMD x86-64
May 22 11:02:39 systemd-sysupdated[16697]: Job 2 failed with bus error, ignoring callback: Job terminated abnormally with signal ABRT.
May 22 11:02:39 audit[1]: SERVICE_STOP pid=1 uid=0 auid=4294967295 ses=4294967295 msg='unit=systemd-coredump@0-4111-17042_1586-0 comm="systemd" exe="/usr/lib/systemd/systemd" hostname=? addr=? terminal=? res=success'
May 22 11:02:39 sudo[16685]: pam_unix(sudo:session): session closed for user root
May 22 11:02:39 systemd[1]: systemd-coredump@0-4111-17042_1586-0.service: Deactivated successfully.
May 22 11:02:40 drkonqi-coredump-processor[17044]: The socket path doesn't exist @ "/run/user/0/drkonqi-coredump-launcher"
May 22 11:02:40 systemd[1]: drkonqi-coredump-processor@0-4111-17042_1586-0.service: Deactivated successfully.
```
Fuller stack trace of the core dump, obtained with `sudo -E coredumpctl gdb 17041`
```
#0 __pthread_kill_implementation (threadid=<optimized out>, signo=signo@entry=6, no_tid=no_tid@entry=0)
at pthread_kill.c:44
#1 0x00007f0269993363 in __pthread_kill_internal (threadid=<optimized out>, signo=6) at pthread_kill.c:89
#2 0x00007f02699377d0 in __GI_raise (sig=sig@entry=6) at ../sysdeps/posix/raise.c:26
#3 0x00007f026991e681 in __GI_abort () at abort.c:77
#4 0x00007f0269c58a4c in log_assert_failed (text=text@entry=0x55b77da807fc "inst",
file=file@entry=0x55b77da7e4db "src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c", line=line@entry=1174,
func=func@entry=0x55b77da81c80 <__func__.7> "context_process_partial_and_pending")
at ../systemd/src/basic/assert-util.c:39
#5 0x000055b77da749b9 in context_process_partial_and_pending (c=c@entry=0x55b79fe1b020,
version=version@entry=0x0) at ../systemd/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c:1174
#6 0x000055b77da795bb in verb_update_impl (argc=<optimized out>, argv=<optimized out>,
action_flags=UPDATE_ACTION_INSTALL) at ../systemd/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c:1588
#7 0x000055b77da6511b in sysupdate_main (argc=4, argv=0x7ffda89b1c18)
at ../systemd/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c:2032
#8 run (argc=4, argv=0x7ffda89b1c18) at ../systemd/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c:2044
#9 main (argc=4, argv=0x7ffda89b1c18) at ../systemd/src/sysupdate/sysupdate.c:2047
```
issue