last command missing in Ubuntu 24.10+ (util-linux), wtmpdb replacement incompatible with cockpit-identities

[aurimasniekis]

Bug Info

Describe the bug
On Ubuntu 24.10 and later, the util-linux package no longer includes the last command. Its replacement, wtmpdb, is not fully compatible with the cockpit-identities add-on. Attempting to view login history results in an error: last: Invalid time value ‘2025-05-21 00:00’ (1)

To Reproduce
Steps to reproduce the behavior:

1. Install Cockpit and the cockpit-identities add-on on Ubuntu 24.10+
2. Navigate to the Identities page
3. Attempt to view login history using the "last" command functionality
4. See error

Expected behavior
Login history should be displayed using the appropriate backend command without throwing errors. If last is unavailable, a compatible fallback or error handling should be implemented.

Screenshots
N/A

Console Output
N/A

Client Side

Desktop (please complete the following information):

• OS: macOS
• Browser: Chrome
• Version: 136.0.7103.114

Smartphone (please complete the following information):
N/A

Server Side

• OS: Ubuntu 25.04
• Cockpit Version: 333-1

Additional context
Ubuntu 24.10 removed the last binary from util-linux. The replacement (wtmpdb) uses a different interface and appears to fail when passed traditional last-style date strings. This causes compatibility issues with tools expecting the old behavior.

[burgerga]

Same issue in Debian 13 (https://www.debian.org/releases/trixie/release-notes/issues.html#the-last-lastb-and-lastlog-commands-have-been-replaced)

[thegreatecheese]

I really am not a dev, nor a big github user, but if I had to guess;

function formatDateForLast(date) {
	const year = date.getFullYear().toString().padStart(4, '0');
	const month = (date.getMonth() + 1).toString().padStart(2, '0');
	const day = date.getDate().toString().padStart(2, '0');
	const hour = date.getHours().toString().padStart(2, '0');
	const minute = date.getMinutes().toString().padStart(2, '0');
	return `${year}-${month}-${day} ${hour}:${minute}`;
}

The return line's backticks are the source of the problem. Running with single quotes results in proper output.

root@c3:~# wtmpdb last --fullnames --time-format=iso --ip --since '2025-05-21 00:00'
cheese   pts/0        192.168.0.6    2025-12-08T23:37:32+0100  - still logged in           

I'm not a big javascript/vue developer, but I think useSpawn later on does some string concatenation that results in apostrophes being attached to the front and tail of the date.

But, this is not a total solution since lastb is now missing and its features are not replaced by wtmpdb and wtmpdb is still an optional package.