Bug#924401: base-files fails postinst when base-passwd is unpacked

[Santiago Vila <sanvila@unex.es>]

On Tue, Mar 12, 2019 at 04:17:10PM +0100, Helmut Grohne wrote:
> Package: base-passwd,base-files,debian-policy
> 
> Debian policy section 3.8 says:
> 
> | Essential is defined as the minimal set of functionality that must be
> | available and usable on the system at all times, even when packages
> | are in the “Unpacked” state.
> 
> When unpacking (but not configuring) a buster or unstable essential
> package set, nothing creates /etc/passwd. Creation of that file is
> performed by base-passwd.postinst. base-files.postinst relies on a
> working /etc/passwd by using e.g. "chown root:root".

I think this is expressed in very generic terms.

To be precise: Who is unpacking (but not configuring) a buster or
unstable essential package set, if not a bootstrapping tool?

Do any of them still don't know that base-passwd should be configured
first because otherwise any other package using root (be it base-files
or any other) will fail? I think this was already settled in the last
discussion we had about this several years ago.

Can you provide at least a bug number for the bootstrapping tool that
apparently still tries to configure all packages at once, or
base-passwd and base-files in the same row?

In other words: Is the present bug report to be considered in a
theoretical way, or it is the result of some problem that you actually
found recently with a bootstrapping tool?

(Or maybe it is the result of someone trying to bootstrap a Debian
system/chroot without using a bootstrapping tool at all?)

Thanks.