[Linux-disciples] /etc/init.d/apache should honor the VERBOSE variable (fwd)

[Stephen R Laniel]

Here's the bug I filed on it. But now I notice that someone
mentioned related concerns in 2003:
http://lists.debian.org/debian-apache/2003/10/msg00688.html

This problem was supposed to have been fixed with Apache
1.3.28.0.1-1, but that appears not to be the case. I wonder
what that's all about. Maybe I ignored a DELAYLOGIN prompt
when I installed Apache?

----- Forwarded message from Stephen Laniel <slaniel at laniels.org> -----

Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
From: Stephen Laniel <slaniel at laniels.org>
To: Debian Bug Tracking System <submit at bugs.debian.org>
Subject: /etc/init.d/apache should honor the VERBOSE variable
X-Mailer: reportbug 3.2
Date: Wed, 18 May 2005 16:57:34 -0400

Package: apache
Version: 1.3.33-3
Severity: important

A while back I commented on this bug:
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=283361

The problem was that if an apache-ssl cert is encrypted on disk with a
passphrase, Apache will prompt the sysadmin for the cert's passphrase
when the system boots. But /etc/init.d/apache tosses the output of
apachectl into /dev/null, so the user never sees the prompt. The machine
appears to hang, when in fact it's just waiting for user input. If
DELAYLOGIN is set to 'yes' (the default), an admin trying to remotely
administer the machine will not be able to sign in until this prompt is
cleared. So this Apache bug is actually disastrous.

A lot of this could be solved if /etc/init.d/apache behaved sensibly
with the VERBOSE environment variable, defined in /etc/default/rcS. If
VERBOSE is turned on, Apache should not throw away the stderr from
apachectl.

Then the problem becomes one of informing the user that he really ought
to turn VERBOSE on. If apache-ssl is installed, and if the cert is
encrypted on disk, then the user should be strongly advised to turn
VERBOSE on, and debconf should turn it on for him. In general, it's
probably just a good idea for Apache debconf to recommend turning on
VERBOSE, regardless of what settings the user has set.

-- System Information:
Debian Release: 3.1
  APT prefers unstable
  APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (1, 'experimental')
Architecture: i386 (i686)
Kernel: Linux 2.4.27-1-386
Locale: LANG=en_US.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=en_US.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)

Versions of packages apache depends on:
ii  apache-common               1.3.33-3     support files for all Apache webse
ii  debconf                     1.4.30.11    Debian configuration management sy
ii  dpkg                        1.10.25      Package maintenance system for Deb
ii  libc6                       2.3.2.ds1-20 GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii  libdb4.2                    4.2.52-17    Berkeley v4.2 Database Libraries [
ii  libexpat1                   1.95.8-1     XML parsing C library - runtime li
ii  libmagic1                   4.12-1       File type determination library us
ii  logrotate                   3.7-2        Log rotation utility
ii  mime-support                3.28-1       MIME files 'mime.types' & 'mailcap
ii  perl                        5.8.4-5      Larry Wall's Practical Extraction 

-- debconf information:
  apache/server-name: localhost
  apache/document-root: /var/www
  apache/server-port: 80
* apache/enable-suexec: false
  apache/init: true
  apache/server-admin: webmaster at localhost

----- End forwarded message -----

-- 
Stephen R. Laniel
steve at laniels.org
+(617) 308-5571
http://laniels.org/
PGP key: http://laniels.org/slaniel.key