Groups | Search | Server Info | Keyboard shortcuts | Login | Register [http] [https] [nntp] [nntps]

Groups > linux.debian.user > #239619

Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ?

Show all headers | View raw

On Fri, Sep 03, 2021 at 08:03:23AM -0400, Greg Wooledge wrote:
> On Fri, Sep 03, 2021 at 07:57:44AM -0400, Roberto C. Sánchez wrote:
> > On Fri, Sep 03, 2021 at 11:14:45AM +0200, Harald Dunkel wrote:
> > > Hi folks,
> > > 
> > > how can I tell the debhelper scripts to not install home directories
> > > for system services in /home (managed on a remote host in my environment),
> > > but to use /var/lib instead?
> > > 
> > That sounds like potentially buggy behavior.  Can you give a specific
> > example?
> 
> Out of curiosity, I checked my system to see if there were any system
> users with home directories under /home.  The only one I found is "ntp".
> 
> Then I looked at the ntp.postinst script, and it has this:
> 
> adduser --system --quiet --ingroup ntp --no-create-home --home /nonexistent ntp
> 
> So presumably my ntp user with /home/ntp as its home directory is from
> an older Debian release, and if it had been created under bullseye, it
> would look different.
> 
How old is your system?  I just checked a machine that I initially as a
Woody (3.0) system in 2001 and there is no ntp user directory under
/home.  I also just fired up a fresh wheezy chroot and the ntp postinst
has this:

adduser --system --quiet --ingroup ntp --no-create-home ntp

Did you perhaps modify your ntp config at a time when you might have
been limited on space under /var?

> Granted, I have only my specific subset of Debian packages installed,
> and there could be others that still make system user home directories
> in /home.  We'll have to await further details from the OP.
> 

As a Debian Developer, I would consider it bad form to go creating
things under /home from a package's maintainer script, though that does
not appear to be a specific policy violation.  In my own case, I don't
locate user home directories under /home for most users, so this sort of
behavior would very likely have triggered jumped out at me.  I have
not in my recollection encountered a Debian package that has done this.

I too would be interested to know more details from the OP.

Regards,

-Roberto
-- 
Roberto C. Sánchez

Back to linux.debian.user | Previous | Next — Previous in thread | Next in thread | Find similar | Unroll thread

Thread

how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Harald Dunkel <harald.dunkel@aixigo.com> - 2021-09-03 11:40 +0200
  Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Erwan David <erwan@rail.eu.org> - 2021-09-03 11:50 +0200
    Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? rhkramer@gmail.com - 2021-09-03 14:10 +0200
    Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Harald Dunkel <harald.dunkel@aixigo.com> - 2021-09-03 15:40 +0200
  Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2021-09-03 14:00 +0200
    Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Greg Wooledge <greg@wooledge.org> - 2021-09-03 14:10 +0200
      Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? "Andrew M.A. Cater" <amacater@einval.com> - 2021-09-03 14:20 +0200
      Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2021-09-03 14:30 +0200
        Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Greg Wooledge <greg@wooledge.org> - 2021-09-03 14:40 +0200
          Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2021-09-03 14:40 +0200
            Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Greg Wooledge <greg@wooledge.org> - 2021-09-03 14:50 +0200
        Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Sven Hartge <sven@svenhartge.de> - 2021-09-03 15:20 +0200
        Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Jonathan Dowland <jon+debian-user@dow.land> - 2021-09-06 12:30 +0200
    Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Harald Dunkel <harald.dunkel@aixigo.com> - 2021-09-03 16:00 +0200
      Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ? Roberto C. Sánchez <roberto@debian.org> - 2021-09-03 16:20 +0200

csiph-web