oem-config fails to prompt for password

[Tobin Davis]

Running a custom server installation (base server, openssh-server, build tools, our own SDK in /opt), we have oem-config install as part of the preseeded network installation. Post-installation, we bypass oem-config (alt-F2) and log in with a user created in the preseed installation. After testing, we ensure oem-config will run (touch /var/lib/oem-config/run) and reboot one last time to see that it starts ok, then we power off the system, box it up and ship it to customers.

We have recently had several customers report that oem-config doesn't prompt for a user password when prompting for a user, and in fact, when I tested it here, I discovered that the password hash in /etc/shadow matched the user password created by the preseed.

ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 12.04
Package: oem-config 2.10.29
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 3.2.0-77.114-generic 3.2.66
Uname: Linux 3.2.0-77-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.0.1-0ubuntu17.8
Architecture: amd64
Date: Thu Mar 19 11:58:24 2015
InstallCmdLine: nomce ks=http://atp-lab.jf.intel.com/preseed/precise-ks.cfg vga=normal DEBCONF_DEBUG=developer -- debconf/priority=critical locale=en_US console-setup/ask_detect=false console-setup/layoutcode=us oem=oem-config/enable=true initrd=precise/initrd.gz BOOT_IMAGE=precise/linux
MarkForUpload: True
PackageArchitecture: all
ProcEnviron:
 TERM=linux
 PATH=(custom, no user)
 LANG=en_US.UTF-8
 SHELL=/bin/bash
SourcePackage: ubiquity
UpgradeStatus: No upgrade log present (probably fresh install)

[Tobin Davis (gruemaster)]

Someone indicated that they need more details to reproduce this, so here it goes:

Download the netboot image from http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/trusty-updates/main/installer-amd64/current/images/netboot/mini.iso and make a bootable usb stick from it using universal usb installer from http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ (Windows) or what ever method your system supports (can be reproduced in a VM, leaving this initial install as an exercise to the user). I use PXE to start the installation.

For boot parameters, use the following (syslinux.cfg):
append initrd=/live/trusty/initrd.gz nomce ks=http://myserver.com/preseed/trusty-ks.cfg locale=en_US console-setup/ask_detect=false console-setup/layoutcode=us vga=normal DEBCONF_DEBUG=developer -- debconf/priority=critical

(see trusty-ks.cfg attached).

During install, the system will prompt asking to confirm NOT to install grub (see https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/debian-installer-netboot-images/+bug/1309349). After rebooting, the system will eventually start oem-config, prompting for language, locale, keyboard setup, username, and hostname (defaults to kickseed if the above install was done). It will NOT prompt for user password. Instead, it generates a new user with the SAME PASSWORD as the preseed config.

[Tobin Davis (gruemaster)]

Note that when I initially filed this bug it was with Ubuntu 12.04. I am also seeing this with Ubuntu 14.04.

Any bets that it also affects 16.04????

[Tobin Davis (gruemaster)]

It appears the fix for this is to add oem-config-prepare to my post-install preseed config. Would be nice if that was a step taken by oem-config installation scripts.