GNU bug report logs - #52539
Fwd: Comments in /etc/passwd don't get updated

Previous Next

Full log

View this message in rfc822 format

From: help-debbugs <at> gnu.org (GNU bug Tracking System)
To: Ludovic Courtès <ludo <at> gnu.org>
Cc: tracker <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#52539: closed (Fwd: Comments in /etc/passwd don't get updated)
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2021 17:33:01 +0000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Your message dated Fri, 31 Dec 2021 18:32:16 +0100
with message-id <87bl0wptnj.fsf <at> gnu.org>
and subject line Re: bug#52539: Fwd: Comments in /etc/passwd don't get updated
has caused the debbugs.gnu.org bug report #52539,
regarding Fwd: Comments in /etc/passwd don't get updated
to be marked as done.

(If you believe you have received this mail in error, please contact
help-debbugs <at> gnu.org.)


-- 
52539: http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=52539
GNU Bug Tracking System
Contact help-debbugs <at> gnu.org with problems

[Message part 2 (message/rfc822, inline)]

From: Jacob First <jacob.first <at> member.fsf.org>
To: bug-guix <at> gnu.org
Subject: Fwd: Comments in /etc/passwd don't get updated
Date: Thu, 16 Dec 2021 07:00:59 +0000

In my Guix system's /etc/passwd file, my user named "abc" has a
comment attached to it. The relevant line is:

    abc:x:1000:998:Old
Comment:/home/jkf:/gnu/store/71yp1p06jy2j96bfdz43f4p6ncdym5a1-zsh-5.8/bin/zsh

Today the users section of my current config.scm looks like this:

    (users (cons* (user-account
                    (name "abc")
                    (group "users")
                    (comment "New Comment")
                    (supplementary-groups '("wheel"
                                            "netdev"
                                            "audio"
                                            "video"
                                            "disk"
                                            "cdrom"
                                            "docker"
                                            "libvirt"
                                            "kvm"))
                    (shell #~(string-append #$zsh "/bin/zsh")))
                   %base-user-accounts))

After I apply this configuration with `guix system reconfigure', I
expect /etc/passwd to have been updated with "New Comment" in place of
"Old Comment". However, "Old Comment" remains.

Similarly, if I omit the `comment' field entirely, I expect my user
comment to be removed from /etc/passwd, since the default value of the
`comment' field is documented to be an empty string (manual 10.6).
Again, the old comment remains.

I am reporting this on a recent Guix version cev9c6c5, but have
noticed this issue for a year at least.

[Message part 3 (message/rfc822, inline)]

From: Ludovic Courtès <ludo <at> gnu.org>
To: Jacob First <jacob.first <at> member.fsf.org>
Cc: 52539-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#52539: Fwd: Comments in /etc/passwd don't get updated
Date: Fri, 31 Dec 2021 18:32:16 +0100

Hi Jacob,

Jacob First <jacob.first <at> member.fsf.org> skribis:

> Thanks for the explanation. This rationale sounds reasonable to me. If
> someone with proper permission has modified a user account's comment,
> it could be important to preserve that customization.
>
> As I pointed out in an earlier message, I believe this behavior
> contradicts the documentation of the `user-account' data type pretty
> strongly. So it appears there is at least a "doc bug" here.
>
> FWIW, I actually reported the present behavior as a bug not because of
> the doc issue, but based on an assumption that "purely declarative"
> implied the result of applying a given configuration should not depend
> on any preexisting system state like a user comment. Sorry for not
> making that clear: it seemed obvious, but I think it's actually a
> misconception (even if user accounts are one of the few areas, AFAICT,
> where the property doesn't hold true).

I clarified this and ensures ‘chfn’ is actually usable in commit
c76775263e56a10cc1b84d03a5827f42436afe40.

Thanks!

Ludo’.

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.