sshd fails to restart after /dev/null is changed to regular file

[De Cora]

/dev/null got changed from a character device to a regular file. the method by which this happened is unknown.

On reboot, sshd failed to start up.

There is a script in /etc/init.d/ssh that dies if /dev/null is not a character device. If you try to start sshd from the command line it reports 'no such device' in the logfile.

This makes you unable to access your server remotely.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: openssh-server 1:5.3p1-3ubuntu4
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-27.49-generic 2.6.32.26+drm33.12
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-27-generic i686
Architecture: i386
Date: Sat Feb 12 11:34:11 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release i386 (20100429)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_CA.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: openssh

[Dave Gilbert (ubuntu-treblig)]

/dev/null must always be the correct character device; if it's a file then it's perfectly reasonable for things to fail.

Now, it shouldn't have changed to a file - it's possible you hit bug 387189
is there a /dev/null.1 which is the original character device?

Dave