Public bug reported:
Title
dirmngr 2.4.8-2ubuntu2.1 preinst script corrupted (syntax error at line 472 in
dpkg-maintscript-helper) blocks install/upgrade in Ubuntu 25.10
Description
Affects: Ubuntu 25.10 (Questing Quokka)
Package: dirmngr (source: gnupg2)
Version: 2.4.8-2ubuntu2.1 (from questing-updates/main)
Architecture: amd64
Symptom
Any attempt to install, upgrade, or fix dirmngr fails with the same error
during unpack:
text/usr/bin/dpkg-maintscript-helper: 472: Syntax error: end of file unexpected
(expecting "}")
dpkg: error processing archive .../dirmngr_2.4.8-2ubuntu2.1_amd64.deb
(--unpack):
new dirmngr package pre-installation script subprocess returned error exit
status 2
This also affects post-removal and post-install scripts in cleanup. The same
pattern has appeared in dependent packages (gnupg2, gpg-wks-client) and has
spread to others (openssh-client, openssh-server, login, libreoffice-common)
during troubleshooting.
Steps to Reproduce
Fresh or partially broken Ubuntu 25.10 install
sudo apt update && sudo apt install dirmngr
Observe failure during the unpacking of the dirmngr deb.
Expected
Package installs/upgrades without script errors.
Actual
Preinst script fails with a syntax error. Error is consistent across mirrors
(us.archive.ubuntu.com, security.ubuntu.com, archive.ubuntu.com).
Workarounds Attempted (all temporary)
Rename/remove corrupt prerm/postinst → create dummy empty scripts → force-purge
with --force-all
Manual deb extraction (dpkg -x) → copy files to /usr/ → ldconfig
Fake status in /var/lib/dpkg/info/dirmngr.list with Status: install ok
configured
apt-mark hold dirmngr to prevent future upgrades
Purge dependent packages (gnupg2, gpg-wks-client) to stop demand
None permanently stops the loop when apt re-downloads the deb (e.g., during
fix-broken, upgrade, or reinstall).
Additional Notes
The deb file itself appears corrupted (consistent failure across mirrors).
Manual extraction works — files function normally (dirmngr --version returns
2.4.8).
The issue affects the dependency chain (gnupg2 → dirmngr, etc.) and blocks
normal upgrade/autoremove.
Please investigate the build/upload process for gnupg2 2.4.8-2ubuntu2.1
in questing-updates. This may affect other packages if maintscripts are
broken in the pipeline.
** Affects: dpkg (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Affects: gnupg2 (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: dirmngrpreinstcorrupted-script25.10questing
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2144691
Title:
dirmngr 2.4.8-2ubuntu2.1 preinst script corrupted (syntax error at
line 472 in dpkg-maintscript-helper) blocks install/upgrade in Ubuntu
25.10
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