Failed to check whether running executables are up-to-date: The system received unexpected output from “/usr/bin/needs-restarting”: This system is receiving updates from CloudLinux Network server.

Issue

In the WHM/cPanel Security Advisor, you get this message:

Failed to check whether running executables are up-to-date: The system received unexpected output from “/usr/bin/needs-restarting”: This system is receiving updates from CloudLinux Network server.

Environment

• CloudLinux 8
• cPanel

Solution

According to cPanel, it's related to a known issue. More details at cPanel knowledgebase and forum.
Unfortunately, there's no solution yet. A possible solution might be implemented on the cPanel side.

Cause

This message comes from the dnf-plugin-spacewalk plugin that's needed to get the updates from our private repositories. The plugin is not developed by CloudLinux so it's impossible to make changes to it to fix it.

Useful Links

• https://support.cpanel.net/hc/en-us/articles/4404419242007-Security-Advisor-failed-to-run-with-unexpected-output
• https://forums.cpanel.net/threads/security-advisor-notification.707293/