Dear Maintainers,

I am experiencing a reproducible issue with papers on Debian.
The program works normally when opening PDF files from standard directories,
including hidden directories such as $HOME/.Exames. However, when a PDF is
located inside a nested hidden directory such as $HOME/.mutt/temp or
$HOME/.mutt/temp2, papers fails to open the file when launched via mutt through
mailcap.

This issue affects only papers. Other viewer (xpdf) open the same file
correctly under identical conditions.

There are no AppArmor denials related to the file path. AppArmor has been
placed in complain mode for papers, papers-previewer, and papers-thumbnailer,
without any change in behavior.

Steps to reproduce

    Create a nested hidden directory:
          mkdir -p ~/.mutt/temp2

    Configure mutt’s mailcap entry:

          application/pdf; papers '%s'; test=test -n "$DISPLAY"

    Receive an email with a PDF attachment in mutt.

    Open the attachment via mutt (v → choose attachment).

    papers is invoked, but no window opens and mutt reports a generic
“Permission” error.

    Test outside mutt:

      Running papers ~/.mutt/temp2/file.pdf from a terminal also fails.

      Moving the same file to $HOME/.Exames or any non-nested hidden directory:

          mv file.pdf ~/.Exames/
          papers ~/.Exames/file.pdf

          → This works correctly.


    Alternative viewer (xpdf) open the same file from ~/.mutt/* without issues.

Expected behavior

    papers should open PDF files located anywhere inside the user’s home
directory, including nested hidden directories such as ~/.mutt/temp used by
mutt for attachments.

Observed behavior

    papers silently fails when opening files in nested hidden directories such
as ~/.mutt/temp*.

    mutt shows a generic “Permission” error.

    No AppArmor blocks occur (aa-complain has no effect).

    xpdf and other viewers work normally.


If needed, I can run further diagnostics or provide logs/tests.

Thank you for your attention.