Software⏱️ 2 min read📅 2026-05-31

How to Fix: "(CRON) info (No MTA installed, discarding output)" error in the syslog

Cron job issue on Ubuntu 12.04.1 LTS, CPU spike and syslog error.

Quick Answer: Check the cron daemon's configuration to ensure it is not running with excessive privileges or consuming unnecessary resources.

📋 Table of Contents

  1. 💡 Why You Are Getting This Error
  2. 🚀 How to Resolve This Issue
  3. 🎯 Final Words

The error message you're seeing in your syslog indicates that the cron daemon is unable to send email notifications because the Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) is not installed on your system.

💡 Why You Are Getting This Error

  • [Cause]

🚀 How to Resolve This Issue

Method 1: Install and Configure MTA

  1. Step 1: Install the MTA package on your Ubuntu server using the following command: sudo apt-get install postfix
  2. Step 2: Configure the MTA by running the following command: sudo dpkg-reconfigure postfix

Method 2: Use a Third-Party MTA like Exim or Sendmail

  1. Step 1: Install the third-party MTA package using the following command: sudo apt-get install exim4-core
  2. Step 2: Configure the third-party MTA by running the following command: sudo dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config

🎯 Final Words

By implementing one of these methods, you should be able to resolve the issue and prevent the 75% CPU spike on your Ubuntu servers.

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