[pkg-ntp-maintainers] Bug#863873: sntp tries to write KoD db file to wrong path

[Bernhard Schmidt]

Package: src:ntp
Version: 1:4.2.8p10+dfsg-3+exp2
Severity: important

sntp tries to write a KoD db file to the path /var/db/ntp-kod defined by
upstream. This path does not exist (and must not exist on Debian, because
it does not match policy).

$ sntp ntp1.lrz.de
sntp 4.2.8p10 at 1.3728-o (1)
kod_init_kod_db(): Cannot open KoD db file /var/db/ntp-kod: No such file or directory
2017-06-01 12:21:33.931875 (-0100) +0.00336 +/- 0.003372 ntp1.lrz.de 2001:4ca0:0:103::81bb:fe20 s1 no-leap

A patch is currently in https://anonscm.debian.org/git/pkg-ntp/pkg-ntp.git/tree/debian/patches/sntp-kod-location.patch?h=berni-wip
but fails to build, because autogen bugs out

cd . && env PATH="/<<BUILDDIR>>/ntp-4.2.8p10+dfsg/sntp:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin:/sbin:/bin:/usr/games" AUTOGEN_DNE_DATE=-D autogen -L include -L ag-tpl --writable -DMAN_SECTION=1sntpman -Tagman-cmd.tpl sntp-opts.def
Error in template /usr/share/autogen/cmd-doc.tlib, line 219
        DEFINITIONS ERROR in /usr/share/autogen/cmd-doc.tlib line 219 for in-mem file:
        Cannot locate converter for mdoc
Failing Guile command:  = = = = =

(define sec-type (string-upcase (get "ds-type")))
    (define sec-name (name-to-fname sec-type))
    (define cvt-fn (find-file (string-append
         (get "ds-format" "man") "2mdoc")))
    (if (not (defined? 'cvt-fn))
        (error (sprintf "Cannot locate converter for %s"
               (get "ds-format" "man"))))

    (define sec-file (string-append tmp-dir "/SEC/" sec-name))
    (access? sec-file R_OK)

=================================
Error in template /usr/share/autogen/cmd-doc.tlib, line 219
        DEFINITIONS ERROR in /usr/share/autogen/cmd-doc.tlib line 219 for sntp-opts.mdoc:
        Cannot locate converter for mdoc
Failing Guile command:  = = = = =

(define sec-type (string-upcase (get "ds-type")))
    (define sec-name (name-to-fname sec-type))
    (define cvt-fn (find-file (string-append
         (get "ds-format" "man") "2mdoc")))
    (if (not (defined? 'cvt-fn))
        (error (sprintf "Cannot locate converter for %s"
               (get "ds-format" "man"))))

    (define sec-file (string-append tmp-dir "/SEC/" sec-name))
    (access? sec-file R_OK)

=================================

There is an upstream bug to make the location configurable

http://bugs.ntp.org/show_bug.cgi?id=3396

See also 

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.protocols.time.ntp/H6A3RFQbyec

Bernhard