[Pkg-fonts-bugs] Bug#387451: fontforge: Segfaults when home directory doesn't exist/is non-writable

[Frank Küster]

Package: fontforge
Version: 0.0.20060703.1-0bpo1
Severity: serious

To reproduce this, just log into a pbuilder chroot and make sure that
the environment information about your username is preserved:

$ pbuilder login --configfile /etc/pbuilderrc.sid
...
# apt-get -y install fontforge >/dev/null 

 Adding system startup for /etc/init.d/x11-common ...
   /etc/rcS.d/S70x11-common -> ../init.d/x11-common
# fontforge 
Copyright (c) 2000-2006 by George Williams.
 Executable based on sources from 08:15 22-Aug-2006.
Segmentation fault
# echo $HOME
/home/frank
# mkdir $HOME
# fontforge -version
Copyright (c) 2000-2006 by George Williams.
 Executable based on sources from 08:15 22-Aug-2006.
fontforge 20060822
# 

The same probably happens when the directory exists, but is not
writable.  We've been bitten by similar problems when building teTeX
related packages in certain environments (not mine, therefore I can't be
more specific).  I've asked on -devel back then, and the consensus was
that a program must not rely on $HOME being existent or writable.

Regards, Frank

-- System Information:
Debian Release: 3.1
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (99, 'unstable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Kernel: Linux 2.6.16-2-686
Locale: LANG=de_DE at euro, LC_CTYPE=de_DE at euro (charmap=ISO-8859-15)

Versions of packages fontforge depends on:
ii  libc6               2.3.2.ds1-22sarge4   GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii  libice6             6.9.0.dfsg.1-6~bpo.4 Inter-Client Exchange library
ii  libsm6              6.9.0.dfsg.1-6~bpo.4 X Window System Session Management
ii  libx11-6            6.9.0.dfsg.1-6~bpo.4 X Window System protocol client li
ii  libxi6              6.9.0.dfsg.1-6~bpo.4 X Window System Input extension li
ii  xlibs               6.9.0.dfsg.1-6~bpo.4 X Window System client libraries m

-- no debconf information

-- 
Frank Küster
Single Molecule Spectroscopy, Protein Folding @ Inst. f. Biochemie, Univ. Zürich
Debian Developer (teTeX/TeXLive)