[Pkg-shadow-devel] Bug#381581: [pkg-ntp-maintainers] Bug#381581: ntp: install failed

[Kurt Roeckx]

On Sun, Aug 06, 2006 at 01:09:01AM +0900, Taku YASUI wrote:
> Package: ntp
> Version: 1:4.2.2+dfsg-1
> Severity: grave
> Justification: renders package unusable
> 
> ntp install failed; it says as follows:
> 
> # apt-get install --reinstall ntp
> Reading package lists... Done
> Building dependency tree... Done
> 0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 1 reinstalled, 0 to remove and 1 not
> upgraded.
> Need to get 0B/321kB of archives.
> After unpacking 0B of additional disk space will be used.
> Do you want to continue [Y/n]? 
> Reading package fields... Done
> Reading package status... Done
> Retrieving bug reports... Done    
> (Reading database ... 95801 files and directories currently installed.)
> Preparing to replace ntp 1:4.2.2+dfsg-1 (using
> .../ntp/ntp_4.2.2+dfsg-1_i386.deb) ...
> useradd: invalid numeric argument 'ntp'
> adduser: `/usr/sbin/useradd -d /home/ntp -g ntp -s /bin/false -u 117
> ntp' returned error code 3. Exiting.

This looks rather weird.  We call adduser:
adduser --system --quiet --group --no-create-home ntp

Which in turn calls useradd:
    &systemcall($useradd, '-d', $home_dir, '-g', $ingroup_name, '-s',
                $shell, '-u', $new_uid, $new_name);

The only "ntp" there is "-g ntp" for the group and "ntp" at the
end for the new username.

The manpage says that -g takes either a name or a number.

So, my guess would be that it failed to create the group, and
trying it manually with a group that doesn't exist also gives
that error.

So, it looks to me that either adduser is broken and doesn't
create the group, or you have some weird setup were creating
groups doesn't work.


Kurt