Please port to polkit-1 or drop policykit usage

[Martin Pitt]

Binary package hint: checkbox

checkbox is one of two remaining packages in the Ubuntu default install which still uses the deprecated policykit 0.9 API. Please port to the new polkit-1 API.

This generally means to change the backend code to the new API, completely throw away everything PolicyKit related from the frontends (polkit daemon invokes authorization dialogs on its own now), and moving around the .policy file.

Please see https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DesktopTeam/PolicyKitOneMigration for the current status and links to API docs and migration guide.

Please see http://bazaar.launchpad.net/%7Ejockey-hackers/jockey/trunk/revision/562 for an example of another Python project (Jockey).

Also, I noticed that the current PolicyKit usage does not make real sense:

      <allow_any>yes</allow_any>
      <allow_inactive>yes</allow_inactive>
      <allow_active>yes</allow_active>

in other words, there is no restriction at all. So if you don't need fine-grained permissions, then you could just drop all the PK stuff and restrict the D-BUS policy from

  <policy context="default">
    <allow send_destination="com.ubuntu.checkbox"
           send_interface="com.ubuntu.checkbox"/>
    <allow send_destination="com.ubuntu.checkbox"
           send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Introspectable"/>
    <allow send_destination="com.ubuntu.checkbox"
           send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties"/>
  </policy>

to

  <policy context="default">
    <allow send_destination="com.ubuntu.checkbox"
           send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Introspectable"/>
    <allow send_destination="com.ubuntu.checkbox"
           send_interface="org.freedesktop.DBus.Properties"/>
  </policy>

  <policy at_console="true">
    <allow send_destination="com.ubuntu.checkbox"
           send_interface="com.ubuntu.checkbox"/>
  </policy>

so that users on a local foreground console users can run the tests, but nobody else.

at_console is deprecated as well, but at least still works (while the old policykit gnome agent is not even installed by default any more).

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

I can probably help out with this, but would like to get Marc's opinion first.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Bumping this, since right now it's pretty much completely broken. Without "policykit" installed it isn't able to run most tests.

policykit isn't installed by default, and checkbox does not depend on it. IMHO it would be easiest for karmic to just rip out the old PK checks and restrict the D-BUS policy to "at_console". Marc, what do you think? (I'm happy to help out with this)

[Marc Tardif (cr3)]

Thanks for the suggestions, I will be implementing the proposed change by dropping all the PK stuff.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

Thanks Marc! I obviously can't judge the test->job changes, but the PK changes look fine.

[Martin Pitt (pitti)]

This will finally fix the remaining package in the default install which uses the old polkit. \o/

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package checkbox - 0.8.4

---------------
checkbox (0.8.4) karmic; urgency=low

  * Fixed failing dependencies when not available (LP: #430051)
  * Fixed supporting udevadm not providing DEVPATH variable (LP: #430084)
  * Fixed supporting audio devices without a /proc/asound entry (LP: #430086)
  * Fixed running when python-apport package is not installed (LP: #430103)
  * Fixed X error when exiting after reporting a bug (LP: #430776)
  * Fixed prompting to report a bug according to GNOME HIG (LP: #429701)
  * Fixed prompting for answer in checkbox-cli (LP: #429764)
  * Fixed resolution_test message for fglrx driver (LP: #346816)
  * Fixed adding of manpage symlinks for gtk and cli (LP: #426641)
  * Fixed recovering from connecting to the backend (LP: #446693)
  * Fixed backend to use dbus instead of policykit (LP: #435714)
  * Fixed interpolation of output variable in cli (LP: #450673)
  * Fixed selection of suites in cli (LP: #450713)
  * Fixed parsing of virtio-pci devices (LP: #450774)

 -- Marc Tardif <email address hidden> Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:22:06 -0400