Ubuntu
apt package

apt-get always crash with Segmentation fault (core dumped) if /var/log/apt doesn't exist.

Bug #535509 reported by marcobra (Marco Braida)
152
This bug affects 40 people
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
apt (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned
Lucid
Fix Released
Undecided
Unassigned
Maverick
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

TEST CASE:

1. get rid of the log directory
2. $ sudo mv /var/log/apt /var/log/apt.bak

3 try to install/remove a package (I'll use htop here)
$ sudo apt-get install htop
Reading package lists... Done
Building dependency tree
Reading state information... Done
Suggested packages:
  strace ltrace
The following NEW packages will be installed:
  htop
0 upgraded, 1 newly installed, 0 to remove and 35 not upgraded.
Need to get 66.1kB of archives.
After this operation, 217kB of additional disk space will be used.
Get:1 https://ftp-stud.hs-esslingen.de/ubuntu/ lucid/universe htop 0.8.3-1ubuntu1 [66.1kB]
Fetched 66.1kB in 1s (57.1kB/s)
Selecting previously deselected package htop.
(Reading database ... 65298 files and directories currently installed.)
Unpacking htop (from ../htop_0.8.3-1ubuntu1_amd64.deb) ...
Setting up htop (0.8.3-1ubuntu1)

Segmentation fault
4. verify the that it segfaults
5. install apt from lucid-proposed
6. repeat step 3 and verify that the segfault is gone

Binary package hint: apt

Description: Ubuntu lucid (development branch)
Release: 10.04

apt:
  Installed: 0.7.25.3ubuntu1
  Candidate: 0.7.25.3ubuntu1
  Version table:
 *** 0.7.25.3ubuntu1 0
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com lucid/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status

If you try to run apt and /var/log/apt doesn't exist (because you mounted /var/log as a tmpfs for example) apt will segfault at the end when trying to save the logs.

The fixed package doesn't segfault anymore and tells you "E: Directory '/var/log/apt/' missing" instead.

See original description
marcobra (Marco Braida) (marcobra)
tags: added: apt apt-get aptitude core crash dump
Revision history for this message
Matthias G. (matgnt) wrote :

Same problem here. With strace I figured out that it stops while checking the history in /var/log/apt/history.log.
If there is no directory /var/log/apt/ you will get a segmentation fault. Can you please check this?

Revision history for this message
khanh (ink-bur) wrote :

I get the same problem. I can confirm that after I created /var/log/apt the problem went away.

Matthias G. (matgnt)
Changed in apt (Ubuntu):
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Peter Wu (lekensteyn) wrote :

Thanks Matthias G.!
Creating a /var/log/apt directory fixed it for me.
Shouldn't apt create this directory if it doesn't exist?

Revision history for this message
Matthias G. (matgnt) wrote :

To clear my above post a bit, I'm not sure if it really happens while "checking" the file, it might rather be when apt tries to add the installed packages to the history file.

The package version is: 0.7.25.3ubuntu9

@Lekensteyn
Yes, I think so. Especially in /var/log. At least an error message should be shown, but a segmentation fault is definetly not a good behavior ;)

Revision history for this message
Matthias G. (matgnt) wrote :

I guess most people will get this error using tmpfs in /etc/fstab because they use a SSD in their system. So a quick fix is to simply add a line for /var/log/apt as well - as proposed in https://help.ubuntu.com/community/EeePC/Using#Reducing%20Drive%20Writes

tmpfs /var/log tmpfs defaults 0 0
tmpfs /var/log/apt tmpfs defaults 0 0

But anyway, the segmentation fault should be fixed.

Philip Muškovac (yofel)
summary: - apt-get always crash with Segmentation fault (core dumped)
+ apt-get always crash with Segmentation fault (core dumped) if
+ /var/log/apt doesn't exist.
Matthias G. (matgnt)
Changed in apt (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Fix Committed
Revision history for this message
Ali Utku Selen (auselen) wrote :

see 506342

Philip Muškovac (yofel)
Changed in apt (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Medium
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package apt - 0.7.25.3ubuntu10

---------------
apt (0.7.25.3ubuntu10) maverick; urgency=low

  [ Michael Vogt ]
  * debian/apt.conf.ubuntu:
    - no longer install (empty) apt.conf.d/01ubuntu
  * apt-pkg/deb/dpkgpm.cc:
    - make the apt/term.log output unbuffered (thanks to Matt Zimmerman)
    - fix FTBFS (LP: #600155)

  [ Matthias G. ]
  * apt-pkg/deb/dpkgpm.cc:
    - Fix segmentation fault when /var/log/apt ist missing. LP: #535509
 -- Michael Vogt <email address hidden> Thu, 08 Jul 2010 09:37:03 +0200

Changed in apt (Ubuntu):
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Christophe Dumez (hydr0g3n) wrote :

This bug has not been fixed in Lucid (probably only in Maverick).

Shouldn't it be fixed in Lucid too?

Michael Vogt (mvo)
Changed in apt (Ubuntu Lucid):
status: New → In Progress
Philip Muškovac (yofel)
description: updated
description: updated
description: updated
description: updated
Michael Vogt (mvo)
description: updated
Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote : Please test proposed package

Accepted apt into lucid-proposed, the package will build now and be available in a few hours. Please test and give feedback here. See https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to enable and use -proposed. Thank you in advance!

Changed in apt (Ubuntu Lucid):
status: In Progress → Fix Committed
tags: added: verification-needed
Revision history for this message
Philip Muškovac (yofel) wrote :

After installing apt from lucid-proposed it now prints

E: Directory '/var/log/apt/' missing

instead of crashing.

tags: added: verification-done
removed: verification-needed
Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package apt - 0.7.25.3ubuntu9.1

---------------
apt (0.7.25.3ubuntu9.1) lucid-proposed; urgency=low

  * apt-pkg/deb/dpkgpm.cc:
    - Fix segmentation fault when /var/log/apt ist missing. LP: #535509
 -- Michael Vogt <email address hidden> Thu, 15 Jul 2010 14:35:30 +0200

Changed in apt (Ubuntu Lucid):
status: Fix Committed → Fix Released
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