package postfix 2.11.0-1 failed to install/upgrade: ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

[Randy Skretka]

Occured during upgrade ubuntu 13.10 > 14.04

ProblemType: Package
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 14.04
Package: postfix 2.11.0-1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.13.0-24.46-generic 3.13.9
Uname: Linux 3.13.0-24-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.14.1-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
Date: Tue Apr 22 13:46:05 2014
DuplicateSignature: package:postfix:2.11.0-1:ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
ErrorMessage: ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
EtcMailname: mail1.ic4ever.com
Hostname: Leno-TS130
InstallationDate: Installed on 2014-01-02 (110 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 13.10 "Saucy Salamander" - Release amd64 (20131016.1)
PostconfMydomain: ic4ever.com
PostconfMyhostname: mail1.ic4ever.com
PostconfMyorigin: $mydomain
ResolvConf:
 # Dynamic resolv.conf(5) file for glibc resolver(3) generated by resolvconf(8)
 # DO NOT EDIT THIS FILE BY HAND -- YOUR CHANGES WILL BE OVERWRITTEN
 nameserver 127.0.1.1
 search LG-Ericsson-WBR-5050
SourcePackage: postfix
Title: package postfix 2.11.0-1 failed to install/upgrade: ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to trusty on 2014-04-22 (0 days ago)

[Robie Basak (racb)]

From log:

Setting up postfix (2.11.0-1) ...
Installing new version of config file /etc/postfix/postfix-files ...
Installing new version of config file /etc/postfix/post-install ...

Postfix configuration was not changed. If you need to make changes, edit
/etc/postfix/main.cf (and others) as needed. To view Postfix configuration
values, see postconf(1).

After modifying main.cf, be sure to run '/etc/init.d/postfix reload'.

Running newaliases
postalias: fatal: open /etc/postfix/aliases/: Not a directory
dpkg: error processing package postfix (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
dpkg: dependency problems prevent configuration of postfix-mysql:
 postfix-mysql depends on postfix (= 2.11.0-1); however:
  Package postfix is not configured yet.

dpkg: error processing package postfix-mysql (--configure):
 dependency problems - leaving unconfigured

[Robie Basak (racb)]

Thank you for your report.

This looks like a local configuration problem, rather than a bug in Ubuntu.

You can find pointers to get help for this sort of problem here: http://www.ubuntu.com/support/community

Since we use this bug tracker to track bugs in Ubuntu, rather than configuration problems, I'm marking this bug as Invalid. This helps us to focus on fixing bugs in Ubuntu.

If you believe that this is really a bug, then you may find it helpful to read "How to report bugs effectively" http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/bugs.html. We'd be grateful if you would then provide a more complete description of the problem, explain why you believe this is a bug in Ubuntu rather than a problem specific to your system, and then change the bug status back to New.

[Randy Skretka (rskret)]

@ Basak: Thank you very much for your fast response.
per: Robie Basak: "This looks like a local configuration problem, rather than a bug in Ubuntu."

Postfix is a highly configurable program. There is nearly never an unconfigured installation of postfix. The installer must then be able to success with most if not all legitimate (ie. working and error free) existing configurations.

My postfix package was (before the bug report) and still is operating error free - until an update to or reconfiguration of postfix is initiated. Today such an event once again occured.

$ sudo apt-get autoremove
.. ,, ..
The following packages will be REMOVED:
  db5.1-util libtcl8.5 python-central tcl8.5
.. ,, ..
Processing triggers for libc-bin (2.19-0ubuntu6) ...
Setting up postfix (2.11.0-1) ...
.. ,, ..
Running newaliases
postalias: fatal: open /etc/postfix/aliases/: Not a directory
dpkg: error processing package postfix (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
.. ,, ..

The original bug report was on the occasion of the distribution upgrade - ubuntu 13.10 > 14.04
Today [Sun Apr 27 13:52:19 2014] the bug repeated during the event as reported above - following a run of "sudo apt-get autoremove". In both cases, /var/log/mail.err was written to with lines such as these:
Apr 27 11:39:08 Leno-TS130 postfix/postalias[12079]: fatal: open /etc/postfix/aliases/: Not a directory

As the log has it, /etc/postfix/aliases is not a directory. No. But it is a file. /etc/postfix/main.cf had the lines:
alias_maps = hash:/etc/postfix/aliases/
alias_database = hash:/etc/postfix/aliases/

I edited the lines and remove the trailing "/" and voila, I ran "sudo apt-get autoremove" again and postfix was successfully reconfigured (in the apt-get dpkg sense, not postfix main.cf etc).
$ dpkg -s postfix
.. ,, ..
Status: install ok installed
.. ,, ..

@Robie Basak: You were correct. The postfix main.cf file included a reference to a regular file appended with a "/" which caused the installer and/or package manager scripts to look only for a directory.