How to solve "Could not execute systemctl: at /usr/bin/deb-systemd-invoke line 142" error when trying to start ejabberd service?

Question

I have tried to start ejabberd service with systemctl in Ubuntu 22.04, but I keep getting:

Could not execute systemctl: at /usr/bin/deb-systemd-invoke line 142

This is a known init-system-helpers bug that has been confirmed but hasn't been resolved yet: Cannot configure krb5-kdc on Ubuntu Jammy 22.04.01, "Could not execute systemctl: at /usr/bin/deb-systemd-invoke line 142." I suggest that you sign yourself as affected by the bug and also subscribe to the bug's notifications. This way the bug report will get more heat (so it should be resolved sooner) and you'll also get notified about any changes in its status. — BeastOfCaerbannog, Nov 28 '23 at 13:42

score 1 · Answer 1 · answered Feb 22 '24 at 16:38

1

If you arrived here trying to install a package, you can fix it temporary while we wait for a fix allowing you to install the package.

Remember to change <package> with the name of the package you're getting the problem.

Look on /var/lib/dpkg/info/<package>.postinst
Edit that file and comment the lines with the deb-systemd-invoke commands. If they're inside a if/then which will be empty place a echo '1' to avoid problems with the empty if.
Run the apt install another time which should finish the installation
Edit the /var/lib/dpkg/info/<package>.postinst another time and leave it as it was before.
Enable the service /lib/systemd/systemd-sysv-install enable <package>

answered Feb 22 '24 at 16:38

NetVicious

You're a legend! Thank you! This exact behaviour occurred to me on an U24.04 server (in regards to an openssh-server upgrade) and your answer got it fixed! – techsk8 Apr 29 '25 at 21:27
If you encounter this problem with openssh-server on Ubuntu 24.04 specifically, be sure to try systemctl start ssh.socket by hand at least once to see how that fails. Earlier, the systemd-generator for sshd set only the port number, while systemd defaults to binding only IPv6 (god knows why); I "fixed" it by adding BindIPv6Only=both. Cue the next update, now the generator explicitly binds 0.0.0.0:22 and [::]:22, so that option now causes an 'address already in use' error at the exact same line in deb-systemd-invoke--but you have to check the journal to see what the actual error was. – pyansharp Aug 21 '25 at 16:52

1 Answers1