Yum/Dnf broken - SystemError: ffi_prep_closure(): bad user_data (it seems that the version of the libffi library seen at runtime is different from the 'ffi.h' file seen at compile-time)

Issue

This error appears when running any yum/dnf command:

SystemError: ffi_prep_closure(): bad user_data (it seems that the version of the libffi library seen at runtime is different from the 'ffi.h' file seen at compile-time)

Environment

• CloudLinux

Solution

Uninstall the existing cffi package and install a compatible version:

# pip3.6 uninstall cffi
  Successfully uninstalled cffi-1.15.1

# pip3 install cffi==1.12
Successfully installed cffi-1.12.0

Note: In case of error, try python -m pip uninstall... python -m pip install...

Cause

There's a mismatch between the version of the libffi library that is seen at runtime and the version of the 'ffi.h' header file that was seen at compile-time. The 'ffi.h' header file is used during the compilation of the cffi package.