If you are a system administrator managing Debian servers, then you are likely to have come across the E: flAbsPath on /var/lib/dpkg/status failed error. This error can arise due to various reasons, but the most common is incorrect permissions on the same status file.
In order to solve this error, it is necessary to set the correct permissions on the status file. This can be done using the command cd /var/lib/dpkg. Once you are inside the /dpkg directory, use the command sudo chown root:root status. This will make sure that only root has access to the status file and not any other user.
The second step to take is to use the command sudo chmod 644 status to set the correct permissions on the status file. This way, root will be able to have full control over the file and other users will not be able to make any changes to it.
The last step to take is to use the command sudo apt update to update the package list. This will ensure that the error is now fixed and that all packages will be updated without any problems.
In conclusion, the E: flAbsPath on /var/lib/dpkg/status failed error is a fairly common issue that can arise due to incorrect permissions on the status file. To fix the issue, all you need to do is set the correct permissions on the file using the cd, sudo chown and sudo chmod commands, followed by running the sudo apt update command so that the package list is updated.
