Bug#315128: exim4-config: Broken handling of /etc/mailname

[John Goerzen]

Package: exim4-config
Version: 4.50-8
Severity: important

The file /etc/mailname is used to form the default host part of e-mail
addresses in the From line of various programs.  For instance, debchange
-i will use it for its changelog messages.  reportbug uses it for bug
reports.  Many programs use it.

exim4-config is generating a bad /etc/mailname that leads to many
troubles.  I remember submitting a bug about this before, but I can't
find it.  Also, exim4-config's behavior is completely at odds with the
other MTAs in Debian, such as postfix or sendmail.

On my system, its hostname is fritz.complete.org and the mailname should
be complete.org.  The name fritz.complete.org can appear in Received
headers and the like, but jgoerzen@fritz.complete.org is NOT a valid
e-mail address at all.

After going through exim4's configuration, it set up /etc/mailname to be
fritz.complete.org, although it is properly using complete.org in
headers it generates itself.  However, this bad /etc/mailname value is
leading other programs to use the wrong headers.

Worse, a grep through /etc/exim4 couldn't find an instance of
/etc/mailname, so I know exim4 is using it somehow, but I can't figure
out where.

-- Package-specific info:
Exim version 4.50 #1 built 27-May-2005 08:08:19
Copyright (c) University of Cambridge 2004
Berkeley DB: Sleepycat Software: Berkeley DB 4.2.52: (December  3, 2003)
Support for: iconv() IPv6 GnuTLS
Lookups: lsearch wildlsearch nwildlsearch iplsearch cdb dbm dbmnz dsearch nis nis0 passwd
Authenticators: cram_md5 plaintext
Routers: accept dnslookup ipliteral manualroute queryprogram redirect
Transports: appendfile/maildir/mailstore autoreply lmtp pipe smtp
Fixed never_users: 0
Configuration file is /var/lib/exim4/config.autogenerated
# /etc/exim4/update-exim4.conf.conf
#
# Edit this file and /etc/mailname by hand and execute update-exim4.conf
# yourself or use 'dpkg-reconfigure exim4-config'
#
# Please note that this is _not_ a dpkg-conffile and that automatic changes
# to this file might happen. The code handling this will honor your local
# changes, so this is usually fine, but will break local schemes that mess
# around with multiple versions of the file.
#
# update-exim4.conf uses this file to determine variable values to replace
# the DEBCONFsomethingDEBCONF strings in the configuration template files.
#
# Most settings found in here do have corresponding questions in the
# Debconf configuration, but not all of them.
#
# This is a Debian specific file

dc_eximconfig_configtype='satellite'
dc_other_hostnames='localhost.localdomain'
dc_local_interfaces='127.0.0.1'
dc_readhost='complete.org'
dc_relay_domains=''
dc_minimaldns='true'
dc_relay_nets=''
dc_smarthost='glockenspiel.complete.org'
CFILEMODE='644'
dc_use_split_config='true'
dc_hide_mailname='true'
dc_mailname_in_oh='true'
mailname:fritz.complete.org

-- System Information:
Debian Release: 3.1
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Kernel: Linux 2.6.11.12
Locale: LANG=en_US, LC_CTYPE=en_US (charmap=ISO-8859-1)

Versions of packages exim4-config depends on:
ii  adduser                 3.63             Add and remove users and groups
ii  debconf [debconf-2.0]   1.4.30.13        Debian configuration management sy
ii  passwd                  1:4.0.3-31sarge5 change and administer password and

-- debconf information:
  exim4/dc_noalias_regenerate: false
* exim4/dc_smarthost: glockenspiel.complete.org
  exim4/dc_relay_domains:
  exim4/dc_relay_nets:
* exim4/mailname: fritz.complete.org
* exim4/dc_local_interfaces: 127.0.0.1
* exim4/dc_minimaldns: true
  exim4/exim3_upgrade: true
* exim4/dc_other_hostnames: localhost.localdomain
* exim4/dc_eximconfig_configtype: mail sent by smarthost; no local mail
* exim4/no_config: true
  exim4/hide_mailname: true
* exim4/dc_postmaster: jgoerzen
* exim4/dc_readhost: complete.org
* exim4/use_split_config: true
  exim4/internal/exim4-config.reconfigure: false
  exim4/exim4-config-title: