Can't sudo due to postfix / sendmail error! WTF?

[piovisqui]

pio@pio-laptop:~$ sudo top
[sudo] password for pio:
send-mail: fatal: open /etc/postfix/main.cf: No such file or directory
Can't send mail: sendmail process failed with error code 75
Segmentation fault

pio@pio-laptop:~$ gksudo nautilus
Can't send mail: sendmail process failed with error code 75
 directory

http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=6797788 Topic about the bug.

The most wierd bug I've ever seen. "sudo" starts to malfunction for no reason. I never touched the postfix/sendmail config, they are as the default installation of Ubuntu 8.10 x64 puts them. My laptop is an Asus F3JC.

No idea why /etc/postfix/main.cf disappeared. I can't use synaptic/apt-get/aptitude.

LSB Version: core-2.0-amd64:core-2.0-noarch:core-3.0-amd64:core-3.0-noarch:core-3.1-amd64:core-3.1-noarch:core-3.2-amd64:core-3.2-noarch:cxx-3.0-amd64:cxx-3.0-noarch:cxx-3.1-amd64:cxx-3.1-noarch:cxx-3.2-amd64:cxx-3.2-noarch:desktop-3.1-amd64:desktop-3.1-noarch:desktop-3.2-amd64:desktop-3.2-noarch:graphics-2.0-amd64:graphics-2.0-noarch:graphics-3.0-amd64:graphics-3.0-noarch:graphics-3.1-amd64:graphics-3.1-noarch:graphics-3.2-amd64:graphics-3.2-noarch:languages-3.2-amd64:languages-3.2-noarch:multimedia-3.2-amd64:multimedia-3.2-noarch:printing-3.2-amd64:printing-3.2-noarch:qt4-3.1-amd64:qt4-3.1-noarch

ii postfix 2.5.5-1 High-performance mail transport agent
ii sudo 1.6.9p17-1ubuntu2.1 Provide limited super user privileges to specific users

Should I post any other system info??

[piovisqui (piovisqui)]

Well, I restared the system and it got almost useless!! I can't log in anymore!! The unique way I can use my laptop now is if I start Ubuntu in recovery mode, log in as root and type "startx". I can not switch users. I can't open some graphical administrations tools, even as root! No network config and bluetooth :(

Do you believe me!?

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

sudo creates a mail if there is some problem with the authentication, which explains the initial error mesage. Perhaps more things in startup use sendmail, and thus they all fail because of this?

I guess it's questionable in the first place why you installed postfix on a desktop box if you don't use/configure it, but I guess it was installed as a dependency of something.

I'm not sure whether it would make sense to fix postfix to gracefully fall back if main.cf doesn't exist. I guess it wouldn't; my advice for you is to boot rescue mode, apt-get purge postfix (if you don't need it), and restart again.

[LaMont Jones (lamont)]

1) sudo failed to authenticate the user
2) sending the email to root telling him that a user failed to authenticate failed

Not sure how this can possibly be a postfix issue....

lamont

[blu Jay (gordon-hammond)]

We are closing this bug report because it has not been updated for some time. Please reopen it if you have more information to submit, and don't hesitate to submit bug reports in the future. To reopen the bug report you can click on the current status, under the Status column, and change the Status back to "New". Thanks again!