#915950 dconf-service: /var/run/user/<UID>/dconf/user switches ownership to root:root

Package:
dconf-service
Source:
dconf
Description:
simple configuration storage system - D-Bus service
Submitter:
Axel Stammler
Date:
2018-12-25 19:57:03 UTC
Severity:
important
#915950#5
Date:
2018-12-08 10:25:36 UTC
From:
To:
Dear Maintainer,

I noticed some programs not working, hanging, or going into infinite loops eating up all
memory and swap space (e.g. Mate Panel or Mate Settings, cf. Bug#913996). Looking for the
cause, I found that my D Conf file (see subject line) was owned by the super user instead
of me with permissions not allowing anyone else access.

If I am quick enough, I can resolve this situation by using Sudo to reset ownership to
myself. Some programs immediately work again, others (like the Mate programs) need to be
killed (so that they are automatically restarted by Mate, in this case).

Sometimes the infinite loop (100% usage of one CPU) can be seen to start when I try to
open Mate's main menu.
#915950#10
Date:
2018-12-25 19:53:54 UTC
From:
To:
Problems can be reduced by running a script to check and reset file ownerships every minute (/etc/crontab). Some processes (like ‘mate-panel’, ‘mate-settings-demon’) still need to be killed, though.