Processes remain after log off, sometimes preventing further graphical logins

[toobuntu]

Binary package hint: libbonobo2-0

This bug is being filed pursuant to the instructions of Sebastien Bacher, who advised: "the issue is not a gdm one, you should rather open bugs for buggy servers which don't have a bug open yet" (https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/xorg/+bug/236210/comments/10).

[Similar bugs filed against: gvfs (Bug #323606), evolution-data-server (Bug #323607), and gconf (Bug #323608)]

After logging out of a GNOME session, processes owned by the now-logged-out user still remain and interfere with subsequent logons.

e.g.

toobuntu@uw1:~$ w
 11:20:37 up 2 days, 20:29, 1 user, load average: 0.04, 0.16, 0.17
USER TTY FROM LOGIN@ IDLE JCPU PCPU WHAT
toobuntu pts/0 uw5.local Fri17 0.00s 0.22s 0.00s w

toobuntu@uw1:~$ ps U ed
  PID TTY STAT TIME COMMAND
20305 ? Ssl 0:00 /usr/lib/bonobo-activation/bonobo-activation-server -
20334 ? Ss 0:00 /usr/lib/gvfs//gvfs-fuse-daemon /home/ed/.gvfs
20404 ? Sl 0:00 /usr/lib/evolution/evolution-data-server-2.22 --oaf-a
21510 ? S 0:00 /usr/lib/libgconf2-4/gconfd-2 11

It seems that these processes are called by GDM, so a GDM restart gets us to a clean slate again. But these processes should, in and of themselves, know to terminate upon user log off. See a fuller discussion re: cleaning of GNOME processes at logoff at the link I posted here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/gnome-session/+bug/49594/comments/33

WORKAROUND - have GDM kill all processes owned by the user logging out by adding a line to /etc/gdm/PostSession/Default

$ ls /etc/gdm/PostSession/
Default

$ tail /etc/gdm/PostSession/Default
    fi
  done
  IFS=$OLD_IFS
  echo "$OUTPUT"
}

# kill straggler processes after logout (LP: #236210)
pkill -u "${USER}"

exit 0

-----
FYI- From http://www.gnome.org/projects/gdm/docs/2.14/configuration.html :

When the user terminates his session, the PostSession script will be run. Again operation is similar to Init, PostLogin and PreSession. Again the script will be run with root privileges, the slave daemon will block and the $USER environment variable will contain the name of the user who just logged out and $DISPLAY will be set to the display the user used, however note that the X server for this display may already be dead and so you shouldn't try to access it. Also $X_SERVERS environmental variable is set and this points to a fake generated X servers file for use with the sessreg accounting application.

Note that the PostSession script will be run even when the display fails to respond due to an I/O error or similar. Thus, there is no guarantee that X applications will work during script execution.
-----

$ lsb_release -dr
Description: Ubuntu 8.04.2
Release: 8.04

$ uname -srvmo
Linux 2.6.24-23-generic #1 SMP Thu Nov 27 18:44:42 UTC 2008 i686 GNU/Linux

$ apt-cache policy libbonobo2-0 gvfs-fuse evolution-data-server libgconf2-4
libbonobo2-0:
  Installed: 2.22.0-0ubuntu1
  Candidate: 2.22.0-0ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 2.22.0-0ubuntu1 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com hardy/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
gvfs-fuse:
  Installed: 0.2.5-0ubuntu3
  Candidate: 0.2.5-0ubuntu3
  Version table:
 *** 0.2.5-0ubuntu3 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-updates/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     0.2.3-0ubuntu4 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com hardy/main Packages
evolution-data-server:
  Installed: 2.22.3-0ubuntu3
  Candidate: 2.22.3-0ubuntu3
  Version table:
 *** 2.22.3-0ubuntu3 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com hardy-updates/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     2.22.1-0ubuntu2 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com hardy/main Packages
libgconf2-4:
  Installed: 2.22.0-0ubuntu3
  Candidate: 2.22.0-0ubuntu3
  Version table:
 *** 2.22.0-0ubuntu3 0
        500 http://us.archive.ubuntu.com hardy/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

[Sebastien Bacher (seb128)]

Thanks for the bug report. This particular bug has already been reported, but feel free to report any other bugs you find.