[Pkg-kde-extras] Bug#466944: exiv2: Exiv2 destroys files when operating on links

[Ben Pearre]

Package: exiv2
Version: 0.16-3
Severity: important


Take a jpg file with exif data.

Make a symlink to the file (I used a file of the same name in a
different directory).

Run exiv2, adding a field to the file.

Expected behaviour: strictly undefined, but I would think that the
operation would be done on the linked-to file.

Two problems: (1) The link is no longer a link, and (2) the linked-to
file is overwritten and has length 0.  ie. it has been completely
destroyed.

For example, there exists IMG_4590.jpg in ~/Desktop.  Now I do

cd /tmp
ln -s ~/Desktop/IMG_4590.jpg
exiv2 -M"add Exif.Image.Copyright foo" IMG_4590.jpg
ls -l ~/Desktop/IMG_4590.jpg

The original file is fubar.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: lenny/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: i386 (i686)

Kernel: Linux 2.6.23.14 (PREEMPT)
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/bash

Versions of packages exiv2 depends on:
ii  libc6                   2.7-8            GNU C Library: Shared libraries
ii  libexiv2-2              0.16-3           EXIF/IPTC metadata manipulation li
ii  libgcc1                 1:4.3-20080202-1 GCC support library
ii  libstdc++6              4.3-20080202-1   The GNU Standard C++ Library v3

exiv2 recommends no packages.

-- no debconf information