[Pkg-clamav-devel] Bug#767353: Bug#767353: clamav: ERROR: Can't save PID to file /var/run/clamav/freshclam.pid: No such file or directory

[Andreas Cadhalpun]

Hi Scott,

On 08.05.2015 14:23, Scott Kitterman wrote:
> On May 8, 2015 7:43:14 AM EDT, Andreas Cadhalpun <andreas.cadhalpun at googlemail.com> wrote:
>> I wonder if the same happened in Ubuntu, which would explain the many
>> reports similar to #778507.
> 
> The reports stopped once we fixed the debconf variable name problem, so I don't think so. 

I think there wouldn't have been (m)any reports if the PidFile setting had been removed
from clamd.conf correctly, because the debconf variable name problem was only on the
path where a PidFile setting is in clamd.conf.

I just checked trusty's clamav 0.98.7+dfsg-0ubuntu0.14.04.1 and it indeed doesn't have
the logic to remove the PidFile setting from the config files.

So anyone upgrading from that to vivid will have the leftover PidFile entry and thus would
have run into the variable name problem, before it got fixed.

>> I see three ways forward:
>> a) Basically ignore the remaining cases and tell anyone who asks about
>>    the warning that he can safely remove the PidFile setting.
>> b) Bump the version in the postinst check and hope it works this time.
>> c) Remove the version check and unconditionally remove the PidFile
>>    setting, if it uses the default path.
>>
>> Does anyone have preferences?
> 
> I suspect it depends. Maybe we could do it based on release rather than version.

That's an idea, but it doesn't scale very well with the number of derivatives.

> In squeeze (I intend an LTS upload soon) and in Ubuntu before 15.04 it need never be removed.
> Ubuntu 15.04 it can always be removed (Ubuntu has never supported multiple init systems).
>  Maybe then something more careful for wheezy/jessie.

It could be removed there as well if the default PID file location is moved
to the init script. I think this would be best.

So unless someone has a better idea, I intend to bump the version in the
clamav-freshclam/clamav-daemon postinst scripts to 0.98.7+dfsg-2~ in the
unstable/jessie branches and cherry-pick the commit moving the PidFile
to the wheezy branch as well.

The same should be done for any update in squeeze and in Ubuntu's security
branches as well.

Best regards,
Andreas