Preseeded setting on openssh-server ignored

[Murukesh Mohanan <murukesh@cse.iitb.ac.in>]

Hi, 
I'm trying to use preseeding to automate installation, and
openssh-server is ignoring a selection
    openssh-server openssh-server/permit-root-login bool true 
The sshd_config always contains 
    PermitRootLogin without-password 
I gather that this is due to the fix of bug #298138. While the 
OP's, and the patch submitter's rationale behind changing 
PermitRootLogin to without-password is ok, doing so by totally 
ignoring the debconf selection if not upgrading is *not*. If I 
wish to automate new installs, with a reasonably secure root 
password, unlike OP, I fail to see why my preseed debconf 
selection should not work. It is, after all, an explicit user 
choice. There are plenty of such selections where the user is 
not asked a question at all and the default selection is used, 
so I fail to see why this question is being ignored (or not 
asked, as maybe the case). I have no problems with the default 
value being 'without-password'. But is ignoring the debconf 
selection altogether the new intended behaviour, or has the 
set of valid values for this selection changed?

The bug has been archived, so I'm posting to the general list
instead of to the bug itself. I have tested this out on jessie
and Ubuntu 14.04.


-- 
Murukesh Mohanan,
62, Hostel 5,
MTech1 CSE, RA Sysad
IIT Bombay