snapcraft 9.2.1 produces noise: couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
Metadata
Current evaluation
snapcraft 9.2.1 produces python-apt warning noise during package download: 'Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file couldn't be accessed by user _apt'. Regression from 8.x.
Suggested action: keep open
Reason: Valid cosmetic regression reported with clear reproduction steps. The warning originates from python-apt's pkgAcquire::Run when snapcraft downloads packages as root. PR #6525 (merged) updated python-apt wheels which may have introduced this behavior. The warning is harmless noise but should be suppressed or addressed for cleaner output.
Evaluated by: mr-cal-bot
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
8
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
70
Actionability:
60
Issue body
### Check existing issues
- [x] I've verified that this bug isn't described by any existing issues.
### Bug description
Hi,
Issue:
```
> snapcraft pack
Pulling postgres-debs :: Downloading package: coreutils/snap/snapcraft/19458/lib/python3.12/site-packages/apt/package.py:810: Warning: W:Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/root/.cache/snapcraft/download/coreutils_9.4-3ubuntu6.3_amd64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
acq.run()
Packed postgresql_16.15_amd64.snap
```
STR:
```
sudo snap install snapcraft # v9.2.1: latest/stable r19387 or latest/edge r19458
git clone https://github.com/canonical/postgresql-snap && cd postgresql-snap
snapcraft clean && snapcraft pack # produces noise above
```
The previous version 8.x had no such noise:
```
sudo snap refresh snapcraft --channel 8.x/stable # v8.14.5, r17614
snapcraft clean && snapcraft pack # has no such noise
```
### Steps to reproduce
See above
### Environment
> lsb_release -a
No LSB modules are available.
Distributor ID: Ubuntu
Description: Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS
Release: 26.04
Codename: resolute
> uname -a
Linux corporate 7.0.0-38-generic #38-Ubuntu SMP PREEMPT_DYNAMIC Fri Sep 4 09:10:14 UTC 2026 x86_64 GNU/Linux
> snap list snapcraft lxd
Name Version Rev Tracking Publisher Notes
lxd 5.21.8-3a06799 40958 5.21/stable canonical✓ -
snapcraft 8.14.5.post2 18961 8.x/edge canonical✓ classic
### snapcraft.yaml
```yaml
https://github.com/canonical/postgresql-snap/blob/16/edge/snap/snapcraft.yaml
```
### Log output
```shell
Pulling postgres-debs :: Downloading package: coreutils/snap/snapcraft/19458/lib/python3.12/site-packages/apt/package.py:810: Warning: W:Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/root/.cache/snapcraft/download/coreutils_9.4-3ubuntu6.3_amd64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)
acq.run()
```
Evaluation history
| Date | Model | Scores | Action | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| qwen/qwen3.6-35b-a3b |
Impact:
20
Quick Win:
8
Complexity:
30
Confidence:
70
Actionability:
60
|
keep open | snapcraft 9.2.1 produces python-apt warning noise during package download: 'Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file couldn't be accessed by user _apt'. Regression from 8.x. |
Update history
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| created |
Related work
-
Related To:
snapcraft#6525
(confidence 80%)
PR #6525 merged recently to update python-apt wheels, which may have introduced or exposed this warning behavior in 9.2.1
Related issues
| Issue | Project | State | Summary | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1793 snapcraft 9.2.1 produces noise: couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied) | craft-parts | open | python-apt warning noise during package downloads in snapcraft 9.x (regression from 8.x); transferred to craft-parts by maintainer, awaiting triage |