VirtualBox error after last (Ubuntu) Software Update

Question

Ubuntu version: 16.04
VirtualBox version: 5.2.26
Updates which have "broken" something: those between last week and today (2019/03/18)

I ran Ubuntu Software Updater this morning, after turning on the computer. Afterwards I tried to launch a Virtual Box machine (version installed via .deb, not the Ubuntu Software Center one) and got that famous error:

Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908)

The VirtualBox Linux kernel driver (vboxdrv) is either not loaded or there is a permission problem with /dev/vboxdrv. Please reinstall the kernel module by executing

'/sbin/vboxconfig'

as root.

where: suplibOsInit what: 3 VERR_VM_DRIVER_NOT_INSTALLED (-1908) - The support driver is not installed. On linux, open returned ENOENT.

After reading about similar problems and understanding why should I do it, I executed it (same results with 'sudo /usr/lib/virtualbox/vboxdrv.sh setup' and any other solutions to similar problems/posts I've found on this site):

$ sudo /sbin/vboxconfig

vboxdrv.sh: Stopping VirtualBox services.
vboxdrv.sh: Starting VirtualBox services.
vboxdrv.sh: Building VirtualBox kernel modules.
vboxdrv.sh: failed: Look at /var/log/vbox-setup.log to find out what went wrong.

Reading the .log, I see that the problem seems to be related with the "get_user_pages" function, and at this point I honestly have no idea how to solve it.

Building the main VirtualBox module.
Error building the module:
make V=1 CONFIG_MODULE_SIG= -C /lib/modules/4.4.0-143-generic/build SUBDIRS=/tmp/vbox.0 SRCROOT=/tmp/vbox.0 -j8 modules
make[1]: warning: -jN forced in submake: disabling jobserver mode.
mkdir -p /tmp/vbox.0/.tmp_versions ; rm -f /tmp/vbox.0/.tmp_versions/*
make -f ./scripts/Makefile.build obj=/tmp/vbox.0
[...]
[...]
[...]
/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c: In function ‘rtR0MemObjNativeLockUser’:
/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c:1122:33: warning: passing argument 6 of ‘get_user_pages’ makes pointer from integer without a cast [-Wint-conversion]
                                 fWrite,                 /* force write access. */
                                 ^
In file included from /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/the-linux-kernel.h:98:0,
                 from /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c:31:
include/linux/mm.h:1222:6: note: expected ‘struct page **’ but argument is of type ‘int’
 long get_user_pages(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
      ^
/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c:1124:33: warning: passing argument 7 of ‘get_user_pages’ from incompatible pointer type [-Wincompatible-pointer-types]
                                 &pMemLnx->apPages[0],   /* Page array. */
                                 ^
In file included from /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/the-linux-kernel.h:98:0,
                 from /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c:31:
include/linux/mm.h:1222:6: note: expected ‘struct vm_area_struct **’ but argument is of type ‘struct page **’
 long get_user_pages(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
      ^
/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c:1112:18: error: too many arguments to function ‘get_user_pages’
             rc = get_user_pages(pTask,                  /* Task for fault accounting. */
                  ^
In file included from /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/the-linux-kernel.h:98:0,
                 from /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.c:31:
include/linux/mm.h:1222:6: note: declared here
 long get_user_pages(struct task_struct *tsk, struct mm_struct *mm,
      ^
  gcc -Wp,-MD,/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/.mpnotification-r0drv-linux.o.d  -nostdinc -isystem /usr/lib/gcc/x86_64-linux-gnu/5/include  -I./arch/x86/include -Iarch/x86/include/generated/uapi -Iarch/x86/include/generated  -Iinclude -I./arch/x86/include/uapi -Iarch/x86/include/generated/uapi -I./include/uapi -Iinclude/generated/uapi -include ./include/linux/kconfig.h -Iubuntu/include  -D__KERNEL__ -fno-pie -Wall -Wundef -Wstrict-prototypes -Wno-trigraphs -fno-strict-aliasing -fno-common -Werror-implicit-function-declaration -Wno-format-security -std=gnu89 -fno-PIE -fno-pie -no-pie -mno-sse -mno-mmx -mno-sse2 -mno-3dnow -mno-avx -m64 -falign-jumps=1 -falign-loops=1 -mno-80387 -mno-fp-ret-in-387 -mpreferred-stack-boundary=3 -mskip-rax-setup -mtune=generic -mno-red-zone -mcmodel=kernel -funit-at-a-time -maccumulate-outgoing-args -DCONFIG_X86_X32_ABI -DCONFIG_AS_CFI=1 -DCONFIG_AS_CFI_SIGNAL_FRAME=1 -DCONFIG_AS_CFI_SECTIONS=1 -DCONFIG_AS_FXSAVEQ=1 -DCONFIG_AS_SSSE3=1 -DCONFIG_AS_CRC32=1 -DCONFIG_AS_AVX=1 -DCONFIG_AS_AVX2=1 -DCONFIG_AS_SHA1_NI=1 -DCONFIG_AS_SHA256_NI=1 -pipe -Wno-sign-compare -fno-asynchronous-unwind-tables -mindirect-branch=thunk-extern -mindirect-branch-register -DRETPOLINE -fno-delete-null-pointer-checks -Wno-maybe-uninitialized -O2 --param=allow-store-data-races=0 -DCC_HAVE_ASM_GOTO -Wframe-larger-than=1024 -fstack-protector-strong -Wno-unused-but-set-variable -fno-omit-frame-pointer -fno-optimize-sibling-calls -fno-var-tracking-assignments -pg -mfentry -DCC_USING_FENTRY -Wdeclaration-after-statement -Wno-pointer-sign -fno-strict-overflow -fno-merge-all-constants -fmerge-constants -fno-stack-check -fconserve-stack -Werror=implicit-int -Werror=strict-prototypes -Werror=date-time -include /tmp/vbox.0/include/VBox/SUPDrvMangling.h -fno-omit-frame-pointer -fno-pie -I/lib/modules/4.4.0-143-generic/build/include -I/tmp/vbox.0/ -I/tmp/vbox.0/include -I/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux -D__KERNEL__ -DMODULE -DRT_OS_LINUX -DIN_RING0 -DIN_RT_R0 -DIN_SUP_R0 -DVBOX -DRT_WITH_VBOX -DVBOX_WITH_HARDENING -DSUPDRV_WITH_RELEASE_LOGGER -Wno-declaration-after-statement -DCONFIG_VBOXDRV_AS_MISC -DRT_ARCH_AMD64 -DVBOX_WITH_64_BITS_GUESTS  -DMODULE  -D"KBUILD_STR(s)=#s" -D"KBUILD_BASENAME=KBUILD_STR(mpnotification_r0drv_linux)"  -D"KBUILD_MODNAME=KBUILD_STR(vboxdrv)" -c -o /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/.tmp_mpnotification-r0drv-linux.o /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/mpnotification-r0drv-linux.c
scripts/Makefile.build:285: recipe for target '/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.o' failed
make[2]: *** [/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memobj-r0drv-linux.o] Error 1
make[2]: *** Waiting for unfinished jobs....
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/initterm-r0drv-linux.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/initterm-r0drv-linux.o"; fi; fi;
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/SUPDrv.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/SUPDrv.o"; fi; fi;
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/assert-r0drv-linux.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/assert-r0drv-linux.o"; fi; fi;
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/alloc-r0drv-linux.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/alloc-r0drv-linux.o"; fi; fi;
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memuserkernel-r0drv-linux.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/memuserkernel-r0drv-linux.o"; fi; fi;
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/mpnotification-r0drv-linux.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/mpnotification-r0drv-linux.o"; fi; fi;
  if [ "-pg" = "-pg" ]; then if [ /tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/mp-r0drv-linux.o != "scripts/mod/empty.o" ]; then ./scripts/recordmcount  "/tmp/vbox.0/r0drv/linux/mp-r0drv-linux.o"; fi; fi;
Makefile:1454: recipe for target '_module_/tmp/vbox.0' failed
make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/vbox.0] Error 2
/tmp/vbox.0/Makefile.include.footer:101: recipe for target 'vboxdrv' failed
make: *** [vboxdrv] Error 2

I have already tried every solution for similar issues with this error message but none works for me.

Anyone has had similar problems after last Ubuntu updates?

UPDATE: I have completely uninstalled VirtualBox, restarted the system, installed VirtualBox again, and still the very same error.

score 15 · Answer 1 · edited Mar 11 '20 at 00:52

The easy answer, for now - use the testbuild provided by Vbox while we wait for a kernel patch.

You can find the build here. You will need to use the current links provided on that page because the ones used here in the example have changed.

Make sure you uninstall your current version:

sudo apt remove virtualbox*
sudo dpkg -r virtualbox 
# the tab key will autocomplete the version if there's one for dpkg to remove

Install the test build (change the url to match the latest test build provided by virtualbox using the above link - https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Testbuilds):

wget https://www.virtualbox.org/download/testcase/VirtualBox-6.0.5-129423-Linux_amd64.run
chmod +x VirtualBox-6.0.5-129423-Linux_amd64.run
sudo ./VirtualBox-6.0.5-129423-Linux_amd64.run

If you need the extension pack (change the url to match the latest test build provided by virtualbox using the above link - https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Testbuilds):

wget https://www.virtualbox.org/download/testcase/Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.5-129380.vbox-extpack
sudo VBoxManage extpack install Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.0.5-129380.vbox-extpack

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Mar 18 '19 at 12:28

4

I have the same problems.

I switched back to previous kernel. See this: http://karlcode.owtelse.com/blog/2017/03/13/reverting-to-a-previous-kernel/

after that reinstall virtual box and it's working again.

Regards Alex

answered Mar 18 '19 at 12:28

Alex

41

N0rbert · Answer 3 · 2019-03-22T17:54:34.790

This looks very similar to known bug 1818049 named "virtualbox dkms modules fail to build with linux 4.4.0-143.169 [error: too many arguments to function ‘get_user_pages’]".

The real working solution would be the same as for TTY problem - remove latest kernels and install previous good one (4.4.0-138-generic looks best for me - USB 3.0 safely remove will work, getty problem will be absent):

sudo apt-get purge linux-image-generic linux-headers-generic
sudo apt-get purge linux-image-4.4.0-139-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-139-generic \
linux-image-4.4.0-140-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-140-generic \
linux-image-4.4.0-141-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-141-generic \
linux-image-4.4.0-142-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-142-generic \
linux-image-4.4.0-143-generic linux-headers-4.4.0-143-generic

sudo apt-get install amd64-microcode intel-microcode thermald
sudo apt-get autoremove

sudo apt-get install linux-image-4.4.0-138-generic linux-image-extra-4.4.0-138-generic
sudo apt-get install linux-headers-4.4.0-138 linux-headers-4.4.0-138-generic

and reboot afterwards. So we need to wait for normal stable well-tested kernel.

Warning: do not upgrade kernel to 4.4.0-143-generic if you need VirtualBox on guests and hosts. Subscribe to the bug 1818049 and after the confirmation of the fix - install newest kernel back with sudo apt-get install linux-image-generic linux-headers-generic.

score 3 · Answer 4 · answered Apr 12 '19 at 16:28

The easiest fix for Ubuntu 16.04 is to upgrade the kernel to the same version Ubuntu 18.04 uses by running the following command:

sudo apt-get install --install-recommends linux-generic-hwe-16.04

Reboot after running the above command.

If you run dkms, you won't have to reinstall the guest additions after the machine reboots. Else, reinstall the guest additions, and it should work fine now in Ubuntu 16.04

Alberto Martín · Accepted Answer · 2019-03-19T20:18:53.197

After trying pretty hard to solve it (neither DKMS nor Synaptics seem to be useful as workaround to the problem), I've been unable to do it, so as TEMPORARY solution for those who could be in the same situation, and just in order to be able to keep on working with guest machines, I suggest to downgrade VirtualBox to the version USC offers.

Just uninstall current VirtualBox version (I did it via Synaptics, but GDebi would perfectly work too).
Install VirtualBox USC offered version (either via USC or Synaptics)
Downgrade (uninstall-install) VBoxGuestAdditions module in host machine.
In the guest machines, remember to downgrade VBoxGuestAdditions (insert old VBoxGuestAdditions CD and run it).

The problem/error is still there since it doesn't allow to use last VirtualBox version, I hope it helps though, but I would appreciate an ultimate solution in order to be able to install and use .deb version again.

UPDATE: So far it seems that there is not ultimate solution, so in my case* this one keeps on being the simplest one. (* Personally I prefer to downgrade VirtualBox instead of going back to previous Ubuntu kernels).

However, if for any reason someone needs to use/install the very last version of VirtualBox, he could do it following these instructions, also mentioned by other users: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/virtualbox/+bug/1818049/comments/27

score 2 · Answer 6 · answered Mar 19 '19 at 10:03

Very much like Alberto's

sudo /usr/lib/virtualbox/vboxdrv.sh setup (I get errors, but stops VBox...)
sudo dpkg -l | grep virtualbox (get VBox version.)
sudo apt-get purge virtualbox-5.XYZ virtualbox-qt (XYZ version from step 2)
Installed from Ubuntu Software: it downgraded to 5.1.38

Up and running again!

score 1 · Answer 7 · edited Apr 02 '19 at 03:10

1

I also saw this problem. I have Ubuntu 16.04 LTS. It updated to 4.4.0-143 kernel. Virtualbox (5.2.14) would not build vboxdrv.ko. Downgrading to kernel 4.4.0-142 (then removing -143) resolved the problem.

edited Apr 02 '19 at 03:10

Philippe Delteil

1,698

answered Apr 01 '19 at 22:20

Brian Armstrong

11

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