Re: how to forbid debhelper to modify /home ?
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
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