Adobe Flash update authentication warning

[grungy_me]

Why am I getting an authentication warning for the current Flash update, version 1.20170110.1-0ubuntu0.16.04.1?

This is on LinuxMint 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit.

Picture of the warning window that comes up:

[Pepi]

I got this on my desktop today? My laptop never gave me this warning ???

[grungy_me]

Bump.

Does anyone have any idea how to correct this issue?

If you need inxi -Fxz terminal output let me know.

[Cosmo.]

Try to switch to another mirror.

[grungy_me]

Try to switch to another mirror.

Thank you for your suggestion. I have just tried restoring the default settings in the Software Sources window, and I've also tried changing the software source mirrors to a few different ones for Main and Base and I keep getting the same error message when I refresh the cache each time after changes:

W: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.

And when I try to update adobe-flashplugin I get the same authentication warning.

[grungy_me]

I'm not sure if this is all related, but it seems to be.

Here's the terminal output from sudo apt update:

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Ign:1 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease
Err:2 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release            
  Bad header line Bad header data [IP: 91.189.92.150 80]
Get:3 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security InRelease [102 kB]
Hit:4 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease                        
Ign:5 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease                
Ign:6 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease       
Ign:7 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena InRelease                    
Hit:8 http://ppa.launchpad.net/wine/wine-builds/ubuntu xenial InRelease 
Get:9 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena Release [24.2 kB]            
Get:10 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates Release [101 kB]        
Get:11 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports Release [101 kB]
Reading package lists... Done                               
E: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

Notice the errors of line two and three, and the last three lines.

Anyone have any furthers ideas? I get the feeling like one of the default software sources for LinuxMint on my computer must be corrupted or have been altered to be incorrect somehow.

[karlchen]

Hello, grungy_me.

The repo http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ <ubuntunickname> partner is the repo from where you receive the Adobe Flash plugin (updates).
I cannot imagine that this repo can experience the problems which your system complains about for several days without more users reporting so in the forum.
Also several of my systems have downloaded the flash update from the repo http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ without having to complain about anything.

Have you tried rebooting your system at any point in time since you started this thread? If you have not tried, please, try. Maybe a reboot mysteriously fixes the problem.

In case the problem persists after a reboot, please, post the complete, unshortened screen output of the following 2 terminal commands:

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inxi -Sr

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sudo apt-get update

Regards,
Karl

[grungy_me]

karichen,

Thank you for your reply.
I wasn't implying that the repo was faulty, but that something on my computer pointing to the repo is.

Yes, my computer has been rebooted many times since this started happening. I never suspend or hibernate it.

inxi -Sr terminal output:

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System:    Host: TWO Kernel: 4.4.0-21-generic x86_64 (64 bit)
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.2.7  Distro: Linux Mint 18.1 Serena
Repos:     Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
           deb http://packages.linuxmint.com serena main upstream import backport
           deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ xenial partner
           Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/wine-wine-builds-xenial.list
           deb http://ppa.launchpad.net/wine/wine-builds/ubuntu xenial main
           deb-src http://ppa.launchpad.net/wine/wine-builds/ubuntu xenial main

sudo apt-get update terminal output:

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Ign:1 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease
Ign:2 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release            
Ign:3 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena InRelease                
Hit:4 http://ppa.launchpad.net/wine/wine-builds/ubuntu xenial InRelease        
Get:5 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security InRelease [102 kB]     
Ign:6 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages.diff/Index
Hit:7 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease                        
Ign:8 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease                
Ign:9 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease              
Hit:10 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena Release                            
Ign:11 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages.diff/Index
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages         
Get:13 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates Release [101 kB]        
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US    
Ign:15 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en.diff/Index
Hit:17 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages       
Ign:17 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages       
Hit:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages        
Ign:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages        
Get:19 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports Release [101 kB]      
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages       
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US  
Ign:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Ign:17 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Ign:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages        
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Ign:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Ign:17 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Ign:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Ign:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Hit:17 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Hit:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Hit:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Fetched 305 kB in 2s (111 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
W: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

[karlchen]

At the end "apt-get update" displays the warning again

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W: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.

Hm.

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http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/dists/xenial/ lists
		Parent Directory	 	-
[ ]	InRelease		2017-01-10 16:27 	11K
[ ]	Release		2017-01-10 16:27 	10K
[ ]	Release.gpg	2017-01-10 16:27 	933 

[grungy_me]

Yup, I get it. The software source does indeed have a release file. So why would my LM 18.1 install believe it does not? Perhaps we could get user Pepi to post some diagnostic info too to see if it's similar?

[karlchen]

Agreed. Pepi's output of "inxi -Sr" and "sudo apt-get update" might be helpful.
What confuses me at the moment is that googling for the warning

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W: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.

returns quite a few hits. But in no case the complaint is really about "http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu". About some PPAs, yes, but never about the official Canonical partner repository.
And telling from the "inxi -Sr" output, there is no syntax error in your sources list file. (Which is good.)
A bit clueless at the moment.

[grungy_me]

Thank you karichen for trying to help. It's much appreciated. I opted to do a fresh re-install of LinuxMint 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit to resolve the problem since yourself or anyone else was not able to come up with a solution. And I even did my own extensive searching for this issue and came up with no solutions. I'm not though going to mark this thread as solved, as I don't really think that should be a necessary thing to do to fix a problem. Thanks again.

[grungy_me]

I spoke to soon. Ok, so like I mentioned in my previous post this is a fresh install of LM 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit as of today. The only thing that was altered was the following in the order listed:

1. Installed all the LinuxMint updates.

• Installed the proprietary Nvidia graphics driver from the driver manager.

• Installed "multi-core system monitor" in the cinnamon panel applet and it's required library "gir1.2-gtop-2.0" from Synaptic Package Manager.

• Installed Keepassx and Artha from Synaptic Package Manager.

• Altered settings and installed add-ons for Firefox and Thunderbird.

• Changed some preferences for Cinnamon, LinuxMint, and the file manager.

• Created a second login account with standard permissions.

After I did all this and completed the prior post I change my software source mirrors to something local and faster. Advanced hosters for main, and leaseweb.net for base. Immediately after updating the cache I get the same error message as the prior install:

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W: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.

Restoring the default settings for the Software Sources, which put the mirrors back to the default ones and then updating the cache did not correct the issue. Either did trying other mirrors.

Here's my terminal output for "inxi -Sr":

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Kernel: 4.4.0-53-generic x86_64 (64 bit)
           Desktop: Cinnamon 3.2.7  Distro: Linux Mint 18.1 Serena
Repos:     Active apt sources in file: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
           deb http://packages.linuxmint.com serena main upstream import backport
           deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ xenial-security main restricted universe multiverse
           deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ xenial partner

Here's my terminal output for "sudo apt-get update":

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Ign:1 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease
Ign:2 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release                       
Get:3 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security InRelease [102 kB]     
Ign:4 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena InRelease                           
Get:5 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena Release [24.2 kB]                   
Ign:6 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages.diff/Index
Hit:7 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease                 
Ign:8 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease
Ign:9 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease
Ign:10 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages.diff/Index
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages  
Hit:13 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates Release          
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Hit:15 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports Release
Ign:16 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en.diff/Index
Hit:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Ign:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages       
Hit:19 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages        
Ign:19 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages        
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages         
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Ign:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Ign:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Ign:19 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Ign:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Ign:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Ign:19 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Ign:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Hit:18 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner amd64 Packages
Hit:19 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner i386 Packages
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Hit:21 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en
Ign:12 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner all Packages
Ign:14 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial/partner Translation-en_US
Fetched 126 kB in 2s (47.8 kB/s)
Reading package lists... Done
W: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Data from such a repository can't be authenticated and is therefore potentially dangerous to use.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

I'm hoping someone can help. I don't believe I've done anything out of the ordinary to LinuxMint than I would have done to prior versions where I did not have this problem.

[grungy_me]

Since there doesn't seem to be any solutions to this so far, I'm going to spend some time re-installing LinuxMint 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit again. And seeing if I can find out at what point this software source error message comes up when changing the source mirrors. Starting with a fresh install with nothing altered about it I'll change the mirrors then update the cache, if nothing, I'll do one thing from the list in the above post then change the mirrors again. Rather tedious and time consuming, but I don't know any other way to figure this out. Wish me luck!

[grungy_me]

I completed another fresh install of LinuxMint 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit. First thing I did was change the mirrors for the software sources. After updating the cache I got the same error regrading the release file not found. Restored an image of this install and ran:

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sudo apt update

Got the following terminal output:

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Ign:1 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease
Err:2 http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release            
  Bad header line Bad header data [IP: 91.189.92.150 80]
Ign:3 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena InRelease                
Get:4 http://packages.linuxmint.com serena Release [24.2 kB]        
Hit:5 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial InRelease                      
Ign:6 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates InRelease
Ign:7 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports InRelease
Get:8 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-security InRelease [102 kB]
Get:10 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates Release [101 kB]        
Get:11 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-backports Release [101 kB]      
Get:12 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates Release.gpg [933 B]
Get:14 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/main amd64 Packages [459 kB]
Get:15 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/main i386 Packages [451 kB]
Get:16 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/universe amd64 Packages [387 kB]
Get:17 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu xenial-updates/universe i386 Packages [382 kB]
Reading package lists... Done     
E: The repository 'http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu xenial Release' does not have a Release file.
N: Updating from such a repository can't be done securely, and is therefore disabled by default.
N: See apt-secure(8) manpage for repository creation and user configuration details.

So it appears like this is a problem right from the start right after the install is done. Keep in mind that I verify the checksum of the downloaded LinuxMint image, and then do an integrity check on the install media. It all comes out ok.

Is this a bug?

I'm open to any input about how to deal with this. Unless one of the updates show as being not authenticated again I'm going to treat it as not a problem and not touch the software source mirrors.

Thoughts?

[grungy_me]

This same problem has returned with this new fresh install of LinuxMint 18.1 Cinnamon 64bit with the adobe-flashplugin 1:20170214.1-0ubunt0.16.04.1 update. Any ideas to fix this?

[karlchen]

Hello, grungy_me.

Sorry, no, I do not have any idea.
It is too bad that no Mint 18(.1) user has commented so far.
I am still stuck on Mint 13 and Mint 17.x and have not experienced the same problem.
Only a few minutes ago this Mint 17.2 received adobe-flashplugin 1:20170214.1-0ubuntu0.14.04.1 from the repo "deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu/ trusty partner" without any authentication warning.
So I can only assume the issue must have been introduced by some change in Mint 18.1. (hypothesis)

A workaround might be switching from adobe-flashplugin to flashplugin-installer (in the official repos, too).
Effectively you will have exactly the same Adobe Flash Plugin in the end.
Only the way of installing is different under the hood.

Karl

[grungy_me]

Thank you for your response karichen. What about just uninstalling it? I don't use and disable it in Firefox anyways. My only concern is that when I go to do that Synaptic Package Manager says it also has to uninstall:

"mint-meta-codecs" and "mint-meta-codecs-core"

Will this impact other multimedia usage on my computer if I uninstall it?

Thanks.

[grungy_me]

I've been running LinuxMint with Adobe Flash plus it's dependencies uninstalled for several weeks now with no problems. And so far no further packages have had this authentication warning issue. At this point I consider this a good work around as long as you don't need Adobe Flash. I don't though consider this problem solved.