#182021 dpkg: Conffiles that vanish across an upgrade can fool dpkg

Package:
dpkg
Source:
dpkg
Description:
Debian package management system
Submitter:
Roland Turner
Date:
2015-03-29 01:30:08 UTC
Severity:
normal
#182021#5
Date:
2003-02-22 11:21:51 UTC
From:
To:
/etc/X11/xkb/symbols/czsk is tagged as a configuration file, however it
contains a version string. Consequently, the user is prompted during upgrade:

    Configuration file `/etc/X11/xkb/symbols/czsk'
     ==> File on system created by you or by a script.
     ==> File also in package provided by package maintainer.
       What would you like to do about it ?  Your options are:
        Y or I  : install the package maintainer's version
        N or O  : keep your currently-installed version
          D     : show the differences between the versions
          Z     : background this process to examine the situation
     The default action is to keep your current version.
    *** czsk (Y/I/N/O/D/Z) [default=N] ?

Despite no changes having ever been made.

The diff looks like:
#182021#8
Date:
2003-02-22 19:39:31 UTC
From:
To:
[...]

That's not why you're being prompted.  You're being prompted because the
file stopped being shipped as part of the package a while back, but now
is being shipped again.  Vanishing conffiles are not deleted when a
package is upgraded.  Therefore, dpkg thinks you're installing a new
conffile on top of some non-packaged previously-existing version which
you must have created.

Dpkg is wrong, of course.

Dpkg has no mechanism to handle conffiles disappearing across upgrades.
#182021#13
Date:
2003-02-25 11:26:02 UTC
From:
To:
Branden Robinson wrote:

Is this just an implementation choice in dpkg, or is there
insufficient information in the existing .deb files to enable
dpkg to, say, remove unmodified configuration files when a
package is being deleted, even if it's not being purged?

(It is conceivable that someone, somewhere is depending upon
deletion-without-purging to leave even unmodified configuration
files intact, but I assume that the idea behind
deletion-without-purging is to preserve local _changes_, not
just local copies of a removed package's standard out-of-the-box
configuration.)

- Raz
#182021#16
Date:
2003-02-25 19:33:55 UTC
From:
To:
The latter.

There should probably be a prompt for disappearing conffiles, similar to
the one that is used for changing conffiles.
#182021#23
Date:
2003-02-26 22:05:27 UTC
From:
To:
retitle 108587 dpkg: a conffile that vanishes across an upgrade can fool dpkg
retitle 182021 dpkg: reappearing conffile that had vanished fools dpkg
reassign 182021
merge 108587 182021
thanks

Adam Heath and I have discussed this on IRC.

Quoting the logs of #182021:

  > /etc/X11/xkb/symbols/czsk is tagged as a configuration file, however it
  > contains a version string. Consequently, the user is prompted during
  > upgrade:
  [...]
  > Despite no changes having ever been made.

  That's not why you're being prompted.  You're being prompted because the
  file stopped being shipped as part of the package a while back, but now
  is being shipped again.  Vanishing conffiles are not deleted when a
  package is upgraded.  Therefore, dpkg thinks you're installing a new
  conffile on top of some non-packaged previously-existing version which
  you must have created.

  Dpkg is wrong, of course.

  Dpkg has no mechanism to handle conffiles disappearing across upgrades.

  > Is this just an implementation choice in dpkg, or is there
  > insufficient information in the existing .deb files to enable
  > dpkg to, say, remove unmodified configuration files when a
  > package is being deleted, even if it's not being purged?

  The latter.

  > (It is conceivable that someone, somewhere is depending upon
  > deletion-without-purging to leave even unmodified configuration
  > files intact, but I assume that the idea behind
  > deletion-without-purging is to preserve local _changes_, not
  > just local copies of a removed package's standard out-of-the-box
  > configuration.)

  There should probably be a prompt for disappearing conffiles, similar to
  the one that is used for changing conffiles.
#182021#34
Date:
2003-07-27 08:02:09 UTC
From:
To:
This was discussed at length in debian-devel and in #108587.
Please follow up in #108587.
#182021#47
Date:
2015-03-20 14:47:18 UTC
From:
To:
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