system-tools-backends causes dbus error if there's no "admin" group

[hm]

Binary package hint: system-tools-backends

the config file /etc/dbus-1/system.d/system-tools-backends.conf contains a policy

  <policy group="admin">
    <!-- be able to speak to the dispatcher -->
    <allow send_destination="org.freedesktop.SystemToolsBackends"/>
  </policy>

however the group "admin" does not necessarily exist, certainly not in my system (I was trying to install the minial possible system). This causes the error message

 * Starting system message bus dbus
Unknown group "admin" in message bus configuration file

when starting dbus. The bug exists in jaunty package system-tools-backends_2.6.0-2ubuntu7_amd64.deb and in interpid package system-tools-backends_2.6.0-1ubuntu1.1_amd64.deb. Upstream, in Debian Lenny this is taken care of by

    if ! getent group stb-admin > /dev/null; then
        addgroup --quiet --system stb-admin
    fi

in postinst script of system-tools-backends, and I have to run manually

addgroup --system admin

[Milan Bouchet-Valat (nalimilan)]

How could the 'admin' group not exist? To me, it's required so that even sudo works, so it's not something you should go without. How do you configure your system?

Debian creates the group in their postinst script because they use a specific 'stb-admin' group, but we use our global admin group, so that should not be necessary. If we create it and you're not member of it, that won't really help either.

[hm (colimit)]

I installed a minimal ubuntu, using debootstrap, and I have neither
'admin' group nor sudo. I created a real password for 'root', and
everything works perfectly. I don't see why you want to resist
creating this security check: if you already have 'admin' group, it
will do nothing, while on stripped systems like mine it is a fix.

On Mon, Aug 31, 2009 at 10:21 AM, Milan Bouchet-Valat<email address hidden> wrote:
> How could the 'admin' group not exist? To me, it's required so that even
> sudo works, so it's not something you should go without. How do you
> configure your system?
>
> Debian creates the group in their postinst script because they use a
> specific 'stb-admin' group, but we use our global admin group, so that
> should not be necessary. If we create it and you're not member of it,
> that won't really help either.
>
> ** Changed in: system-tools-backends (Ubuntu)
>       Status: New => Incomplete
>
> --
> system-tools-backends causes dbus error if there's no "admin" group
> https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/354721
> You received this bug notification because you are a direct subscriber
> of the bug.
>

[Milan Bouchet-Valat (nalimilan)]

I have no problem with the package creating this group personaly, and that's not really my problem since I'm working on the upstream side. But as an Ubuntu user, I'd have thought that group should be created by an essential package, and maybe we should push the fix there rather than in the gst. I don't really see why one wouldn't want to have an admin group out of the box, even if it's not used.

[Milan Bouchet-Valat (nalimilan)]

As sudo is using the admin group and is part of ubuntu-minimal, I think the fix should go there (or in some even more essential package).

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

[Expired for sudo (Ubuntu) because there has been no activity for 60 days.]