unattended-upgrades automatically downloads and installs security updates so your Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server stays protected without manual intervention.
Tested and valid on:
- Ubuntu 24.04 LTS
Prerequisites
- Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server
- A user with sudo privileges
- An email address for notifications (optional)
Step 1 – Install unattended-upgrades
Install or confirm the package is present:
sudo apt install unattended-upgrades apt-listchanges -y Step 2 – Enable Automatic Updates
Run the interactive configuration wizard:
sudo dpkg-reconfigure --priority=low unattended-upgrades Select Yes to enable.
Step 3 – Review the Main Configuration
Open the config file:
sudo nano /etc/apt/apt.conf.d/50unattended-upgrades Confirm the security allowed-origin is enabled:
"${distro_id}:${distro_codename}-security"; Step 4 – Enable All Updates (optional)
Uncomment to also apply regular updates:
"${distro_id}:${distro_codename}"; Step 5 – Configure Email Notifications
Set up email reports:
Unattended-Upgrade::Mail "admin@example.com";
Unattended-Upgrade::MailReport "on-change"; Step 6 – Enable Automatic Reboot (optional)
Allow reboots after kernel updates:
Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot "true";
Unattended-Upgrade::Automatic-Reboot-Time "03:00"; Step 7 – Test the Configuration
Perform a dry-run:
sudo unattended-upgrades --dry-run --debug 2>&1 | head -40 Step 8 – Check Logs
View the upgrade history:
cat /var/log/unattended-upgrades/unattended-upgrades.log Conclusion
Unattended upgrades are now configured on your Ubuntu 24.04 LTS server. Security patches will be applied automatically, significantly reducing your exposure window.
