Package: exim4-config Version: 4.63-10 Priority: wishlist Exim4-config generates /etc/mailname automatically on postinst, based on the information provided by the user. It fails, however, to remove this configuration file if the package is purged from the system.
I have recently had to debug a misconfiguration issue which prevent a mail system from locally delivering mail. Here's what happened: - User installed Debian, when the exim4-config package is installed he (by mistake) presses a key in the keyboard that generates a control character in the debconf prompt for the local system name (using someother name instead of the default 'localhost.localdomain') - The debconf prompt fails to notice that the user introduced an invalid (non-ASCII) char and happily uses it (this is another, different, bug) - The user configures the 'things we relay from' with the same local system name he (thought) he had introduced. - Exim4 fails to deliver local mail (logs show that the local system is not authorised to use the daemon as a realy) There is no way to inmediately fix this: - If the user tries to fix this (reconfiguring the package) he is presented with a debconf prompt (the first one) in which no matter what characters he introduces, the prompt does not change and remains blank (this is due to the control character). - If the user tries to puge the package and reinstall then he is presented with the same non-functioning debconf prompt. (this is because /etc/mailname is preserved after purge and reused in the debconf prompt) IMHO, exim4-config should remove /etc/mailname if it can ascertain (through it's checksum) that *he* (and not the admin) created the file. That would make it possible to fix the above situation by purging the package and reinstalling. Regards Javier PS: I'm going to fix a separate bug for the control chars issue
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