topic Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04 in Webex Meetings and Webex App

Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

cramjaco — Tue, 20 Aug 2024 19:53:47 GMT

I'm running Ubuntu Linux version 24.04. My impression is that Webex may not yet be compatable with this system, but want to see if I have any workaround options to get things to work and also catalogue what does not work.

Generally, I'm following these instructions:

https://help.webex.com/en-us/article/9vstcdb/Webex-App-for-Linux#Cisco_Reference.dita_86ea12dd-8b6c-4c57-bcdf-63878239b931

So far I've successfully downloaded Webex.dev

If I try to install it with either

sudo apt install ./Webex.dev
or with

sudo dpkg -i Webex.dev

I get an get an error message that I'm missing the dependency libgl1-mesa-glx

I can't seem to install this from source, even if I add the main
repository, as suggested here

https://askubuntu.com/questions/1348744/cannot-install-zoom-or-webex-meetings-unsatisfiable-dependency-libgl1-mesa-glx

Following this issue:
https://askubuntu.com/questions/1517352/issues-installing-libgl1-mesa-glx

I downloaded dependencies for packettracer for ubuntu 23 and installed them with https://github.com/PetrusNoleto/Error-in-install-cisco-packet-tracer-in-ubuntu-23.10-unmet-dependencies

They did not change the behaviour of the installer. The post recommends finding versions of those dependencies for Ubuntu 24, but they don't seem to exist anywhere as far as I can tell. At this point I'm stuck. I would welcome other suggestions if they exist.

Thank you.

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

dtibbe — Wed, 21 Aug 2024 20:16:22 GMT

At https://faq.tickets.tu-dresden.de/otrs/public.pl?Action=PublicFAQZoom;Subaction=HTMLView;ItemID=1116;Field=Field3, there is another workaround mentioned:

Issue: (Ubuntu 22.10 and newer)

The installation of WebEx fails because the required package libgl1-mesa-glx no longer exists on newer Ubuntu versions:
1 The following packages have unmet dependencies:
2 webex : Depends: libgl1-mesa-glx but it is not installable
Solution:
Installing the package from an older version of Ubuntu:
1 wget http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/m/mesa/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
2 apt install --mark-auto libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
The libgl1-mesa-glx package is only a dummy package that temporarily refers to other packages, so the use of this package from an older Ubuntu version in a more recent Ubuntu version is not critical. By marking the package as automatically installed, the package is automatically removed again as soon as a newer version of WebEx no longer requires this package.

Maybe that works for you?

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

t0b1 — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 20:20:42 GMT

Running 44.8 with straces shows there are many more missing dependencies than just libgl1-mesa-glx. The latter lib alone didn't help me solve the problem. Until the devs can bring themselves to finally release a working version, any work-around would be much appreciated.

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

cramjaco — Tue, 03 Sep 2024 20:54:34 GMT

Hmm. I find the wget command works fine.

If I run the apt install command from inside the directory where I ran wget, I get this error:

jacob@osprey:~/Downloads$ sudo apt install --mark-auto libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree... Done
Reading state information... Done
E: Unable to locate package libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb

One might think the .deb file is missing from the directory, but I confirm its there:

jacob@osprey:~/Downloads$ ls | grep libgl1
libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb

Any ideas?

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

Serenebreak — Wed, 04 Sep 2024 20:05:30 GMT

@cramjaco wrote:
If I run the apt install command from inside the directory where I ran wget, I get this error:
jacob@osprey:~/Downloads$ sudo apt install --mark-auto libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb

E: Unable to locate package libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb

Your missing the ./ before the filename to indicate current directory

wget http://de.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/m/mesa/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb
sudo apt install --mark-auto ./libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb

For me in Ubuntu 24.04.1 that resolves the apt dependency issue but it is not enough to run the Webex client 44.8.0.30404. It quits silently and returns exit 0 to the command prompt without any information as to the cause when running /opt/Webex/bin/CiscoCollabHost

Further research running 'strace /opt/Webex/bin/CiscoCollabHost /opt/Webex/lib/ libWebexAppLoader.so /Start' and looking through dmesg messages revealed that apparmor was blocking the application.

Create this file using your favorite text editor /etc/apparmor.d/opt.Webex.bin.CiscoCollabHost

abi <abi/4.0>,
include <tunables/global>

profile CiscoWebEx /opt/Webex/bin/CiscoCollabHost flags=(unconfined) {
  userns,

  # Site-specific additions and overrides. See local/README for details.
  include if exists <local/CiscoWebEx>
}

and load the profile into apparmor with command

sudo apparmor_parser -r /etc/apparmor.d/opt.Webex.bin.CiscoCollabHost

That was enough to get the application to load. However when checking all the library dependencies with the following command revealed that libtdd.so.2 and libssl1.1 where not found.

find /opt/Webex/ | grep so$ | xargs -i{} ldd '{}' | grep 'not found'

I satisfied the dependencies with

# libssl dependency
curl -O http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/main/o/openssl/libssl1.1_1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.23_amd64.deb
sudo apt install ./libssl1.1_1.1.1f-1ubuntu2.23_amd64.deb
# libtbb dependency
sudo apt install libtbbmalloc2
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtbbmalloc.so.2 /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libtbb.so.2

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

cramjaco — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 12:51:51 GMT

Thanks @Serenebreak for catching that mistake. I'm getting this error now, at the end of the install. Any ideas?

N: Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/home/jacob/Downloads/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

Serenebreak — Thu, 05 Sep 2024 13:42:40 GMT

@cramjaco wrote:
Thanks @Serenebreak for catching that mistake. I'm getting this error now, at the end of the install. Any ideas?
N: Download is performed unsandboxed as root as file '/home/jacob/Downloads/libgl1-mesa-glx_23.0.4-0ubuntu1~22.04.1_amd64.deb' couldn't be accessed by user '_apt'. - pkgAcquire::Run (13: Permission denied)

Not related to Webex, this is a Debian / Ubuntu thing. The N: indicates a informational message. The package installed fine. If you want to address the message checkout the article linked below.

https://orcacore.com/fix-apt-error-download-is-performed-unsandboxed-as-root/

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

stuartfpage — Sat, 28 Sep 2024 06:18:17 GMT

I got this to work on Ubuntu 24.04 once libgl1-mesa-glx was installed but ONLY after also resolving a problem with apparmor. Essentially Webex was installed, but would not run.

Step 1 - verify that the app will not run by attempting to run the App from Terminal. Use the following command:

/opt/Webex/bin/CiscoCollabHost %U
Look for any error messages that can give you clues about what's going wrong--In my case there were none.

Step 2 - Create an AppArmor Profile for Webex:

sudo nano /etc/apparmor.d/Webex
Add the following content (and save):

abi <abi/4.0>,
include <tunables/global>
profile Webex /opt/Webex/bin/CiscoCollabHost flags=(unconfined) {
userns,
include if exists <local/Webex>
}

#Note: Be aware of white space in the apparmor profile above, as this forum may 'mangle' the formatting.

Step 3. Then reload the profiles:

sudo systemctl reload apparmor

This solution suggests that the issue in my case on Ubuntu 24.04 was not with the Webex app itself but rather with the security policies enforced by AppArmor on my system. By creating a custom AppArmor profile for Webex and setting it to "unconfined," I effectively lifted these restrictions, allowing the app to run without being blocked. If you encounter similar issues with webex, creating or modifying AppArmor profiles might be a useful troubleshooting step.

Re: Installing webex app on Ubuntu 24.04

Torbjørn — Wed, 16 Jul 2025 18:29:22 GMT

I had completely given up on making Webex work on 24.04. I have spent so much time on this without discovering that apparmor was blocking it. Thank you!