[Bug] - dnf-plugins-core (4.3.0) missing upstream fix for kernel-name-based reboot detection — needs-restarting -r never detects AL2023 kernel updates

[ermeaney]

Describe the bug

dnf needs-restarting -r never reports a reboot as required after a kernel-only
update on AL2023, even when a newer kernel6.12 build is installed and confirmed
as the next-boot kernel via grubby. Root cause: AL2023's packaged
dnf-plugins-core (currently 4.3.0-13.amzn2023.0.6, latest available in the
amazonlinux repo as of this writing) predates an upstream fix for exactly this
scenario, released in dnf-plugins-core 4.8.0.

Root cause

needs_restarting.py's reboot-hint logic matches installed packages against a
hardcoded list:

NEED_REBOOT = ['kernel', 'kernel-rt', 'glibc', 'linux-firmware',
               'systemd', 'dbus', 'dbus-broker', 'dbus-daemon',
               'microcode_ctl']

In AL2023's shipped version (4.3.0), the match is by literal package name:

for pkg in installed.filter(name=NEED_REBOOT):

AL2023 names its kernel package kernel6.12 (major version embedded, to allow
side-by-side kernel installs) — that string is never literally 'kernel', so a
kernel update is invisible to this check, regardless of provides.

Upstream already fixed this in commit
c989427d53
("needs-restarting: detect packages providing NEED_REBOOT", released in
4.8.0), changing the match to provides-based:

for pkg in installed.filter(provides=NEED_REBOOT):

The commit message: "This allows the 'needs-restarting' plugin to detect if any
alternative kernels have been installed/updated since the system last booted."
— our exact scenario. We confirmed live that kernel6.12 does correctly
Provide: kernel = <version>, so the provides-based match would work correctly
on AL2023 today if the newer plugin were packaged.

To Reproduce (live-tested on an AL2023 EKS worker node)

1. Node has two kernel6.12 NEVRAs installed side by side (normal AL2023
   pattern): the running one, and a newer one installed well after last boot.

   rpm -q kernel6.12 --qf '%{VERSION}-%{RELEASE} installed:%{INSTALLTIME:date}\n'
   6.12.68-92.122.amzn2023 installed:Fri Feb 13 16:07:15 2026
   6.12.95-124.187.amzn2023 installed:Tue Aug 11 12:12:00 2026
   

2. uname -r → 6.12.68-92.122.amzn2023.x86_64 (still running the old one)
3. Boot time (uptime -s) → 2026-03-24 18:00:13 — clearly before the newer
   kernel's install time.
4. grubby --default-kernel → /boot/vmlinuz-6.12.95-124.187.amzn2023.x86_64
   — correctly identifies the newer kernel as next-boot.
5. rpm -q --whatprovides kernel → returns both installed kernel6.12
   packages, confirming both declare Provides: kernel.
6. dnf needs-restarting -r:

   No core libraries or services have been updated since boot-up.
   Reboot should not be necessary.
   

   — incorrect. Confirmed via direct hawkey query
   (base.sack.query().installed().filter(provides=NEED_REBOOT)) that the
   provides-based match does correctly return the newer kernel package with
   the right installtime — the only thing preventing detection is that the
   installed plugin still filters by name=, not provides=.

Expected behavior

dnf needs-restarting -r should exit 1 (reboot required) once a newer
kernel6.12 build is installed after the current boot, matching upstream
dnf-plugins-core 4.8.0+ behavior.

Additional context

• dnf --version: 4.14.0
• rpm -q dnf-plugins-core: dnf-plugins-core-4.3.0-13.amzn2023.0.6
• Confirmed via dnf --refresh repoquery --available dnf-plugins-core against
  the live amazonlinux repo that 4.3.0-13.amzn2023.0.6 is the newest version
  currently packaged — this isn't a node/instance staleness issue, AL2023 hasn't
  shipped the fix at all yet.
• Impact: any automation relying on needs-restarting -r's exit code to decide
  whether to reboot a node for kernel updates (e.g. kured, configured with
  rebootSentinelCommand: needs-restarting -r) silently never reboots for
  kernel-only updates on AL2023 — worse than a false positive, since nodes
  accumulate unapplied kernel security patches indefinitely while reporting
  "reboot should not be necessary."
• Requesting: update/backport dnf-plugins-core past 4.8.0 (or backport just
  commit c989427d53) into AL2023's repos.