This looks to be caused by improper session launch. How to reproduce this problem: 1) open a terminal and check what your DISPLAY variable is set at and write it down: echo $DISPLAY NOTICE: I assume your DISPLAY variable is set to :0 If not, please use the variable that you wrote down instead 2) change to vt1 via ctrl+alt+f1 3) login 4) replace your shell via: 4a) for Unity: DISPLAY=:0 unity --replace -- or -- 3b) for Gnome Shell: DISPLAY=:0 gnome-shell --replace 4) go back to your shell (vt7) via ctrl+alt+f7 and wait a few seconds while your shell restarts
You should now experience the "Authorization failed" issue. Open up Run command via alt+f2 and start your shell: a) for Unity: unity --replace b) for Gnome Shell: gnome-shell --replace The "Authorization failed" issue should not longer exist. At first I thought this was a polkitd issue, but alas, polkitd is always running, even when experiencing the issue: /usr/lib/policykit-1/polkitd --no-debug dbus-daemon is also always running. It seems like something with the DISPLAY is not getting properly handled. -- You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu. https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1074657 Title: "Authorization failed" when trying to edit anything To manage notifications about this bug go to: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/software-properties/+bug/1074657/+subscriptions -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs