[pkg-fetchmail-maint] Bug#321272: apt-get install fails: "chown: `fetchmail:nogroup': invalid user"

[Håvard Dahle]

Håvard Dahle wrote:

>Package: fetchmail
>Version: 6.2.5-18
>Followup-For: Bug #321272
>
>
>Nico Golde nico at ngolde.de Thu Aug 4 17:24:24 UTC 2005:
>
>  
>
>>* James Kelly <jkelly at patriot.net> [2005-08-04 19:08]:
>>    
>>
>>>When trying to install fetchmail on my system using apt-get install
>>>fetchmail or aptitude I get the following error:
>>>
>>><-- SNIP -->
>>>chown: `fetchmail:nogroup': invalid user
>>>dpkg: error processing fetchmail (--configure):
>>> subprocess post-installation script returned error exit status 1
>>>Errors were encountered while processing:
>>> fetchmail
>>>E: Sub-process /usr/bin/dpkg returned an error code (1)
>>>      
>>>
>
>I experience the exact same problem. The fetchmail package is, in
>effect, uninstallable. 
>
[...]

>2) The adduser call fails on my system. Take a look at this (I extracted
>  the actual adduser call and ran it in the cli):
>
>  rasha:~# adduser --system --ingroup nogroup --home /var/run/fetchmail \
>      --shell /bin/sh --disabled-password fetchmail
>  adduser: Warning: The home dir you specified already exists.
>  Adding system user `fetchmail'...
>  Adding new user `fetchmail' (107) with group `nogroup'.
>  chage: can't open shadow password fileadduser: `/usr/bin/chage -M 99999
>  fetchmail' returned error code 1.  Aborting.
>  Cleaning up.
>  Removing user `fetchmail'.
>
>Now, I have no clue what `chage' and `shadow password' really mean, but
>hopefully someone who reads this report does. 
>

Ok, so I snooped a bit further, and looking at bug 316217 put me on the 
right track. Shadow passwords were in fact not enabled on my system.

So running
 > # dpkg-reconfigure -plow passwd
and enabling shadow was all there was to it. Now the `fetchmail' package 
installs, uninstalls and installs cleanly on my system. Progress!


May I suggest a thorough revision of the `postinst' script - it feels a 
bit hacky to me. Maybe even blurt out a hint like: "Make sure shadow 
passwords are enabled". (Although ideally the package would rather say 
"Require-setting: shadow-enabled")

But as I said earlier: I really don't get all of what chage and shadow 
passwords are all about.

>What I do know, is that
>there's nothing special with my system (it's been proper debian forever,
>though it started off as woody and has been running unstable sometimes),
>and adding system users by hand shouldn't really be necessary.
>
>  
>

Take care,

Håvard