sound too loud at login screen

[mlg7]

Binary package hint: gdm

Log in to Ubuntu.
Before you enter the password, the sound is too loud. It is too loud even with internal speakers; with external speakers or headphones it's just disastrous.
After you enter the password, the sound returns to normal level.

This bug happens each time the computer is reboot.

What's more interesting, this bug is not there in Hardy (Hardy with all updates, I have it too): Hardy plays sound on the same level that was there on the last reboot. Of course, there's a risk that one user will use another user's sound level settings, at least for a while, but it should be preferred to what we have now. Finally, keeping the sound level settings secret sounds a bit paranoid.

What I expected to happen: I expected sound to be played using the level that I set last time
What actually happened: sound played at maximal magnitude.

And, guys, this bug is a security vulnerability because with this bug all my neighbors know when my computer reboots.

$lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 10.04.2 LTS
Release: 10.04

$ apt-cache policy gdm
gdm:
  Installed: 2.30.2.is.2.30.0-0ubuntu5.1
  Candidate: 2.30.2.is.2.30.0-0ubuntu5.1
  Version table:
 *** 2.30.2.is.2.30.0-0ubuntu5.1 0
        500 http://ru.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid-updates/main Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid-security/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     2.30.0-0ubuntu5 0
        500 http://ru.archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ lucid/main Packages

$ apt-cache policy alsa
alsa:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: (none)
  Version table:

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 10.04
Package: gdm 2.30.2.is.2.30.0-0ubuntu5.1
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 2.6.32-31.61-generic 2.6.32.32+drm33.14
Uname: Linux 2.6.32-31-generic x86_64
Architecture: amd64
Date: Mon Apr 25 20:40:21 2011
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS "Lucid Lynx" - Release amd64 (20100429)
ProcEnviron:
 LANG=en_US.utf8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: gdm

[Jamie Strandboge (jdstrand)]

Thanks for taking the time to report this bug and helping to make Ubuntu better. We appreciate the difficulties you are facing, but this appears to be a "regular" (non-security) bug. I have unmarked it as a security issue since this bug does not show evidence of allowing attackers to cross privilege boundaries nor directly cause loss of data/privacy. Please feel free to report any other bugs you may find.

[mlg7 (mlg7)]

That is, you believe that drawing everyone's attention to your actions is not a loss of privacy?
In theory, it is possible to turn speakers off. In practice, Nobody never remembers to do it.

In addition, in some circumstances (like local trains) turning a laptop on may be just dangerous: this misfeature will draw attention of everyone around, regardless of who they are, and if there are people of some sort... well... you may have your face punched and the laptop lost, along with all data on it.

Please forgive my bluntness, such simple things about real life are usually assumed to be self-understood. Probably, you live on a different Earth Ball.

[John Cottier (j-cottier)]

This bug affect me too. It happened after an update. I noticed the alert sounds where really quiet so I turned them up in sound preferences. At the next boot I realised that the login volume was now 100% (distorting), but after login finished returned to normal volume. I disabled the drum login sound a while ago, but e-mail alerts + Unbuntu login sound blasting at distorted levels is not nice in an office environment (this is my work machine). My PC is a Dell E521 with Nvidia MCP51 HD Audio.
If you need any logs, please let me know.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

Status changed to 'Confirmed' because the bug affects multiple users.

[dino99 (9d9)]

This version has expired