Your message dated Thu, 6 Nov 2025 18:10:28 -0500
with message-id
<CAAajCMbEGeU1s25jpEe8X6shc3ORJcSDUw=so-RFXNkWy=d...@mail.gmail.com>
and subject line closing ancient gdm3 bugs
has caused the Debian Bug report #773752,
regarding gdm3: GDM3 pollutes system logs with user session output under systemd
to be marked as done.
This means that you claim that the problem has been dealt with.
If this is not the case it is now your responsibility to reopen the
Bug report if necessary, and/or fix the problem forthwith.
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--
773752: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=773752
Debian Bug Tracking System
Contact [email protected] with problems
--- Begin Message ---
Package: gdm3
Version: 3.14.1-3
Severity: important
Tags: upstream
Dear Maintainer,
On a system upgraded to systemd, GDM logs the stderr of the user's X
session in three (3!) log files through journald:
/var/log/user.log
/var/log/messages
/var/log/syslog
This fills up /var/log/ with huge journal files, because of the output
of a *user* application.
This is due to GDM3 logging to systemd instead of .xsession-errors (or
$XDG_CACHE_COME/gdm/session.log more recently).
See https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=676181
This behavior is extremely annoying as it continuously pollutes system
logs with most generally useless user application debugging or
unimpotant warnings (such as GTK warning messages from various
applications).
This can furthermore be a *serious* issue because it can easily lead to
DoS-like behavior when a user application misbehaves and spams its
stdout and/or stderr. As mentioned above, the X session output ends up
in three system logs written by syslog (a root service), which doesn't
seem to be handling this kind of stress well by default, and leads to
filling /var/log beyond limits (using reserved blocks).
I know this kind of behavior can already be triggered with direct
syslog interaction (e.g. through `logger`), but it is quite different
since application would need to explicitly use syslog, while here it
affects random applications whom output was never expected to even be
logged.
So, please rebuild GDM3 with `--disable-systemd-journal`, as suggested
in a comment in the aforementioned bug:
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=676181#c17
This should give back a sane logging behavior by logging to X session
output to $XDG_CACHE_HOME/gdm/session.log.
Regards,
Colomban
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 8.0
APT prefers unstable
APT policy: (500, 'unstable'), (500, 'testing'), (500, 'stable')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Kernel: Linux 3.16.0-4-amd64 (SMP w/4 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=fr_FR.utf8, LC_CTYPE=fr_FR.utf8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
Init: systemd (via /run/systemd/system)
Versions of packages gdm3 depends on:
ii accountsservice 0.6.37-3+b1
ii adduser 3.113+nmu3
ii cinnamon [x-window-manager] 2.2.16-5
ii dconf-cli 0.22.0-1
ii dconf-gsettings-backend 0.22.0-1
ii debconf [debconf-2.0] 1.5.55
ii gir1.2-gdm3 3.14.1-3
ii gnome-session [x-session-manager] 3.14.0-2
ii gnome-session-bin 3.14.0-2
ii gnome-session-flashback [x-session-manager] 3.8.1-7
ii gnome-settings-daemon 3.14.2-2
ii gnome-shell 3.14.2-3
ii gnome-terminal [x-terminal-emulator] 3.14.1-1
ii gsettings-desktop-schemas 3.14.1-1
ii libaccountsservice0 0.6.37-3+b1
ii libaudit1 1:2.4-1+b1
ii libc6 2.19-13
ii libcanberra-gtk3-0 0.30-2.1
ii libcanberra0 0.30-2.1
ii libgdk-pixbuf2.0-0 2.31.1-2+b1
ii libgdm1 3.14.1-3
ii libglib2.0-0 2.42.1-1
ii libglib2.0-bin 2.42.1-1
ii libgtk-3-0 3.14.5-1
ii libpam-modules 1.1.8-3.1
ii libpam-runtime 1.1.8-3.1
ii libpam-systemd 215-8
ii libpam0g 1.1.8-3.1
ii librsvg2-common 2.40.5-1
ii libselinux1 2.3-2
ii libsystemd0 215-8
ii libwrap0 7.6.q-25
ii libx11-6 2:1.6.2-3
ii libxau6 1:1.0.8-1
ii libxdmcp6 1:1.1.1-1+b1
ii libxrandr2 2:1.4.2-1+b1
ii lsb-base 4.1+Debian13+nmu1
ii marco [x-window-manager] 1.8.2+dfsg1-4
ii mate-session-manager [x-session-manager] 1.8.1-5
ii mate-terminal [x-terminal-emulator] 1.8.1+dfsg1-3
ii metacity [x-window-manager] 1:3.14.3-1
ii mutter [x-window-manager] 3.14.2-1
ii openbox [x-window-manager] 3.5.2-8
ii policykit-1 0.105-8
ii twm [x-window-manager] 1:1.0.8-1
ii ucf 3.0030
ii x11-common 1:7.7+7
ii x11-xserver-utils 7.7+3+b1
ii xfce4-session [x-session-manager] 4.10.1-9
ii xfce4-terminal [x-terminal-emulator] 0.6.3-1+b1
ii xfwm4 [x-window-manager] 4.10.1-3
ii xterm [x-terminal-emulator] 312-1
Versions of packages gdm3 recommends:
ii at-spi2-core 2.14.0-1
ii desktop-base 8.0.2
ii gnome-icon-theme 3.12.0-1
ii gnome-icon-theme-symbolic 3.12.0-1
ii x11-xkb-utils 7.7+1
ii xserver-xephyr 2:1.16.2.901-1
ii xserver-xorg 1:7.7+7
ii zenity 3.14.0-1
Versions of packages gdm3 suggests:
ii gnome-orca 3.14.0-2
ii libpam-gnome-keyring 3.14.0-1+b1
-- debconf-show failed
--- End Message ---
--- Begin Message ---
There have been many changes to Debian since this bug was originally
reported. If you are still experiencing this issue with Debian 13 (or
with Debian 12 or Testing or Unstable), please report a new bug.
Thank you,
Jeremy Bícha
--- End Message ---
