[Pkg-nginx-maintainers] Bug#1098477: nginx-common: service fails to start after #1082373 dependency loop resolved

[Matthew Ruffell]

Package: nginx-common
Version: 1.26.3-2
Severity: important

Dear Maintainer,

In #1082373, the dependency loop was solved by removing the nginx dependency
from nginx-common. If we now install nginx-common by itself, we get the
nginx service, and it fails to start:

# apt install nginx-common
...
Get:1 http://deb.debian.org/debian sid/main amd64 nginx-common all 1.26.3-2 [108 kB]
...
Preparing to unpack .../nginx-common_1.26.3-2_all.deb ...
Unpacking nginx-common (1.26.3-2) ...
Setting up nginx-common (1.26.3-2) ...
Created symlink '/etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/nginx.service' → '/usr/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service'.
Could not execute systemctl:  at /usr/bin/deb-systemd-invoke line 148.
# systemctl status nginx.service
× nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/nginx.service; enabled; preset: enable
d)
    Drop-In: /run/systemd/system/service.d
             └─zzz-lxc-service.conf
     Active: failed (Result: exit-code) since Fri 2025-02-21 01:37:56 UTC; 12s ago
 Invocation: 53f1dc26e8da4c838bc4d5e4278415de
       Docs: man:nginx(8)
    Process: 477 ExecStartPre=/usr/sbin/nginx -t -q -g daemon on; master_process on; (code=exited, status=203/EXEC)
   Mem peak: 1.7M
        CPU: 6ms

Feb 21 01:37:56 polite-mullet systemd[1]: Starting nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server...
Feb 21 01:37:56 polite-mullet (nginx)[477]: nginx.service: Unable to locate executable '/usr/sbin/nginx': No such file or directory
Feb 21 01:37:56 polite-mullet (nginx)[477]: nginx.service: Failed at step EXEC spawning /usr/sbin/nginx: No such file or directory
Feb 21 01:37:56 polite-mullet systemd[1]: nginx.service: Control process exited, code=exited, status=203/EXEC
Feb 21 01:37:56 polite-mullet systemd[1]: nginx.service: Failed with result 'exit-code'.
Feb 21 01:37:56 polite-mullet systemd[1]: Failed to start nginx.service - A high performance web server and a reverse proxy server.

This is due to the nginx binary not being present, as it lives in the nginx 
package.

Discovered by Andreas Hasenack during SRU review of the downstream bug:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/nginx/+bug/2081308

Thanks,
Matthew

-- System Information:
Debian Release: trixie/sid
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)

Kernel: Linux 6.11.0-18-generic (SMP w/16 CPU threads; PREEMPT)
Kernel taint flags: TAINT_PROPRIETARY_MODULE, TAINT_OOT_MODULE, TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE not set
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /usr/bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)

Versions of packages nginx-common depends on:
ii  debconf [debconf-2.0]  1.5.89

nginx-common recommends no packages.

Versions of packages nginx-common suggests:
pn  fcgiwrap   <none>
pn  nginx-doc  <none>
pn  ssl-cert   <none>

-- debconf information excluded