[Python-modules-team] Bug#961629: python3-virtualenv: Fails to create a Python 3.7 environment

[Alexander Clausen]

Package: python3-virtualenv
Version: 20.0.21+ds-1
Severity: important

Dear Maintainer,

trying to create a Python 3.7 virtualenv fails, while Python 3.8 works,
as follows:

$ python3 -m virtualenv --no-download --python /usr/bin/python3.8 bleh 
created virtual environment CPython3.8.3.final.0-64 in 231ms
  creator CPython3Posix(dest=/home/alex/bleh, clear=False, global=False)
  seeder FromAppData(download=False, pip=latest, setuptools=latest, wheel=latest, pkg_resources=latest, via=copy, app_data_dir=/home/alex/.local/share/virtualenv/seed-app-data/v1.0.1.debian)
  activators BashActivator,CShellActivator,FishActivator,PowerShellActivator,PythonActivator,XonshActivator
$ python3 -m virtualenv --no-download --python /usr/bin/python3.7 bleh 
RuntimeError: failed to query /usr/bin/python3.7 with code 1 err: 'Traceback (most recent call last):\n  File "/usr/lib/python3/dist-packages/virtualenv/discovery/py_info.py", line 16, in <module>\n    from distutils import dist\nImportError: cannot import name \'dist\' from \'distutils\' (/usr/lib/python3.7/distutils/__init__.py)\n'
$ python3 --version
Python 3.8.3

This also breaks, for example, tox.

Thanks,
Alexander

-- System Information:
Debian Release: bullseye/sid
  APT prefers unstable-debug
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable-debug'), (500, 'unstable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386

Kernel: Linux 5.6.0-1-amd64 (SMP w/12 CPU cores)
Kernel taint flags: TAINT_PROPRIETARY_MODULE, TAINT_OOT_MODULE, TAINT_UNSIGNED_MODULE
Locale: LANG=en_US.utf8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8), LANGUAGE=en_US:en (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
LSM: AppArmor: enabled

Versions of packages python3-virtualenv depends on:
ii  python-pip-whl              20.1.1-1
ii  python3                     3.8.2-3
ii  python3-appdirs             1.4.4-1
ii  python3-distlib             0.3.0-1
ii  python3-distutils           3.8.3-2
ii  python3-filelock            3.0.12-2
ii  python3-importlib-metadata  1.6.0-1
ii  python3-pip                 20.1.1-1
ii  python3-pkg-resources       46.1.3-1
ii  python3-six                 1.15.0-1

python3-virtualenv recommends no packages.

python3-virtualenv suggests no packages.

-- no debconf information