Bug#888498: apache2: Orphaned stale state files
Package: apache2
Version: 2.4.25-3+deb9u3
Severity: normal
When enabling/disable a site through the a2ensite/a2dissite command, there are
state files that get automatically created under the /var/lib/apache2/site/*
state directories.
Problem:
When an administrator want remove a site as follows:
# a2dissite site
# rm /etc/apache2/sites/available/site.conf
The state file stating that the site is disabled is not removed, leading to an
orphaned stale state file that won't be removed.
The same behavior can be observed for the 'conf' objects.
Regarding the man page, it is stated that state file are removed when using the
'--purge' option. However, the man page state this fact only for modules.
Discussion
It could be interesting to make the man page more clear regarding how state
files are handled and also the purpose of their existence. I didn't found
further information for their use.
Are the state files really needed for the 'site' and 'conf' objects?
>From my personal point of view, an administrator shouldn't have to make use of
the '--purge' option when they want to remove a 'site' or 'conf' object. As I
understand, state files are for internal use only and the administrators
shouldn't be even aware of those. A state file that is for internal use only
(for which purpose exactly?) should be removed transparently when needed.
-- Package-specific info:
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 9.3
APT prefers stable-updates
APT policy: (500, 'stable-updates'), (500, 'stable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386
Kernel: Linux 4.9.0-5-amd64 (SMP w/8 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=fr_FR.utf8, LC_CTYPE=fr_FR.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE=fr_FR.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
Versions of packages apache2 depends on:
ii apache2-bin 2.4.25-3+deb9u3
ii apache2-data 2.4.25-3+deb9u3
ii apache2-utils 2.4.25-3+deb9u3
ii dpkg 1.18.24
ii init-system-helpers 1.48
ii lsb-base 9.20161125
ii mime-support 3.60
ii perl 5.24.1-3+deb9u2
ii procps 2:3.3.12-3
Versions of packages apache2 recommends:
ii ssl-cert 1.0.39
Versions of packages apache2 suggests:
pn apache2-doc <none>
pn apache2-suexec-pristine | apache2-suexec-custom <none>
ii firefox-esr [www-browser] 52.6.0esr-1~deb9u1
ii google-chrome-stable [www-browser] 63.0.3239.132-1
ii w3m [www-browser] 0.5.3-34
Versions of packages apache2-bin depends on:
ii libapr1 1.5.2-5
ii libaprutil1 1.5.4-3
ii libaprutil1-dbd-sqlite3 1.5.4-3
ii libaprutil1-ldap 1.5.4-3
ii libc6 2.24-11+deb9u1
ii libldap-2.4-2 2.4.44+dfsg-5+deb9u1
ii liblua5.2-0 5.2.4-1.1+b2
ii libnghttp2-14 1.18.1-1
ii libpcre3 2:8.39-3
ii libssl1.0.2 1.0.2l-2+deb9u2
ii libxml2 2.9.4+dfsg1-2.2+deb9u2
ii perl 5.24.1-3+deb9u2
ii zlib1g 1:1.2.8.dfsg-5
Versions of packages apache2-bin suggests:
pn apache2-doc <none>
pn apache2-suexec-pristine | apache2-suexec-custom <none>
ii firefox-esr [www-browser] 52.6.0esr-1~deb9u1
ii google-chrome-stable [www-browser] 63.0.3239.132-1
ii w3m [www-browser] 0.5.3-34
Versions of packages apache2 is related to:
ii apache2 2.4.25-3+deb9u3
ii apache2-bin 2.4.25-3+deb9u3
-- no debconf information
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