sysv-rc.postinst calls insserv by name, but insserv package does not provide the command in a bin directory

[TheMixtureMedia]

Test Case
---------
Perform a hokey upgrade from Trusty to Wily

1) Modify /etc/apt/sources.list from trusty to wily
2) Run apt-get update
3) Try to install the wily version of sysv-rc

With the current version of sysvinit the upgrade process will fail with messages like:

Setting up sysv-rc (2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2) ...^M
info: Reordering boot system, log to /var/lib/insserv/run-20160122T1444.log^M
error: Something failed while migrating.^M
^M
error: Unable to migrate to dependency based boot sequencing.^M
^M
See http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot for^M
more information about dependency based boot sequencing. To^M

With the version of the package in -proposed we should see no such error.

------------------------------

After update

ProblemType: PackageDistroRelease: Ubuntu 15.10
Package: sysv-rc 2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2
ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 4.2.0-16.19-generic 4.2.3
Uname: Linux 4.2.0-16-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.19.1-0ubuntu2
Architecture: amd64
Date: Wed Oct 14 05:47:58 2015
DuplicateSignature: package:sysv-rc:2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2:subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
ErrorMessage: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
InstallationDate: Installed on 2015-10-14 (3 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 14.04 LTS "Trusty Tahr" - Release amd64 (20140417)
PackageArchitecture: all
RelatedPackageVersions:
 dpkg 1.18.2ubuntu4
 apt 1.0.10.2ubuntu1SourcePackage: sysvinit
Title: package sysv-rc 2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2 failed to install/upgrade: subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to wily on 2015-10-14 (3 days ago)

[Steve Langasek (vorlon)]

The error in your log is:

Setting up sysv-rc (2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu1) ...
info: Reordering boot system, log to /var/lib/insserv/run-20151014T0547.log
error: Something failed while migrating.

error: Unable to migrate to dependency based boot sequencing.

See http://wiki.debian.org/LSBInitScripts/DependencyBasedBoot for
more information about dependency based boot sequencing. To
reattempt the migration process run 'dpkg --configure sysv-rc'.

dpkg: error processing package sysv-rc (--configure):
 subprocess installed post-installation script returned error exit status 1

Please attach the named /var/lib/insserv/run-20151014T0547.log file.

[Matthew Jaggard (ubuntu-jaggard)]

Attached log for when I got the same error

[Robie Basak (racb)]

Confirmed. I had the same issue test upgrading from Trusty to Xenial.

activate_insserv() in sysv-rc.postinst calls "insserv -v". However insserv 1.14.0-5ubuntu3 as in Xenial does not ship a suitable executable in a standard bin path. In the last merge, insserv 1.14.0-5ubuntu1's changelog says "Move insserv out of system path to disuade package maintainers from invoking it directly."

[Robie Basak (racb)]

19:48 <slangasek> rbasak: oh - no, I see, the maintainer script gives a generic error and the real error is in the log. ok. Yes, the postinst already does "Make sure insserv is in the path", so it just needs /usr/lib/insserv to be part of that path, I think

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package sysvinit - 2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu3

---------------
sysvinit (2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu3) xenial; urgency=medium

  * Add /usr/lib/insserv/ to sysv-rc.postinst's PATH so that it can find
    the insserv binary, since it is moved by the current Ubuntu delta in
    the insserv package (LP: #1507151).

 -- Robie Basak <email address hidden> Wed, 18 Nov 2015 10:32:05 +0000

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

This will also affect Trusty to Wily upgrades, which will be a thing once Vivid become End of Life. See bug 1537900, which I will mark as a duplicate, for details.

[Chris J Arges (arges)]

Hello TheMixtureMedia, or anyone else affected,

Accepted sysvinit into wily-proposed. The package will build now and be available at https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/sysvinit/2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2.1 in a few hours, and then in the -proposed repository.

Please help us by testing this new package. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Your feedback will aid us getting this update out to other Ubuntu users.

If this package fixes the bug for you, please add a comment to this bug, mentioning the version of the package you tested, and change the tag from verification-needed to verification-done. If it does not fix the bug for you, please add a comment stating that, and change the tag to verification-failed. In either case, details of your testing will help us make a better decision.

Further information regarding the verification process can be found at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/PerformingSRUVerification . Thank you in advance!

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

Using the modified test case, a release upgrade from Trusty to Wily would disable -proposed, I was able to verify the fix for this bug and successfully update the sysv-rc package.

[Launchpad Janitor (janitor)]

This bug was fixed in the package sysvinit - 2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2.1

---------------
sysvinit (2.88dsf-59.2ubuntu2.1) wily; urgency=medium

  * Add /usr/lib/insserv/ to sysv-rc.postinst's PATH so that it can find
    the insserv binary, since it is moved by the current Ubuntu delta in
    the insserv package (LP: #1507151).

 -- Brian Murray <email address hidden> Mon, 25 Jan 2016 13:31:12 -0800

[Brian Murray (brian-murray)]

The verification of the Stable Release Update for sysvinit has completed successfully and the package has now been released to -updates. Subsequently, the Ubuntu Stable Release Updates Team is being unsubscribed and will not receive messages about this bug report. In the event that you encounter a regression using the package from -updates please report a new bug using ubuntu-bug and tag the bug report regression-update so we can easily find any regressions.