I've update the SRU template / bug description and esp. added a test case.
Changelog of the recent resolute upload is unfortunately the same:
https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/resolute/+queue?queue_state=1&queue_text=s390-tools
Latest noble upload is correct, since noble does not yet have the list-directed
IPL feature, that req. makedumpfile.
** Description changed:
SRU Justification:
[ Impact ]
* s390-tools' postinst (debian/s390-tools.postinst.s390x) calls
"addgroup"/"adduser" (from the adduser package) to create the
cpacfstats and ts-shell system groups. adduser is not 'Essential'
but was missing from Depends, so on minimal s390x systems
(debootstrap --variant=minbase, minimal containers/cloud images)
where adduser isn't already present, package configuration fails:
addgroup: not found
dpkg: error processing package s390-tools (--configure):
... postinst maintainer script subprocess failed with exit
status 127
This leaves s390-tools half-configured and prevents it (and
dependents such as s390-tools-zkey) from being installed at all
on such systems.
* Fix: add "adduser [s390x]," to Depends: in debian/control. No
code or postinst changes - Depends metadata only, so apt/dpkg
now guarantee adduser is present before postinst runs.
+ * While verifying the dependencies, it turned out that
+ makedumpfile became required by zipl since for s390-tools
+ v2.39.0 and higher(for the special use case: list-directed
+ IPL dump). That was added this as well.
+
[ Test Plan ]
1. On an s390x system with s390-tools currently installed, remove
adduser: `apt remove adduser`.
2. Install/upgrade to the fixed s390-tools (2.31.0-0ubuntu5.4 or
later), e.g. `apt install s390-tools` (or `apt full-upgrade`).
3. Confirm apt pulls in adduser automatically as part of resolving
the new dependency, and that s390-tools configures without error
(`dpkg -l s390-tools` shows "ii", not "iF"/half-configured).
4. Sanity check the groups postinst is supposed to create exist:
`getent group cpacfstats ts-shell`.
(For contrast/negative control, the same sequence with the
previous, unfixed s390-tools version fails at step 2/3 with the
"addgroup: not found" error quoted above.)
+
+ a. Ensure makedumpfile is not installed on an s390x system,
+ that has access to a DASD disk.
+ b. Install the s390-tools package (or upgrade accordingly).
+ c. Call zipl with 'liste-directed ipl argument' on a DASD disk:
+ d. It's fails without makedumpfile installed:
+ $ zipl -d /dev/dasda1 --ldipl-dump
+ Run /lib/s390-tools/zipl_helper.prepare-ngdump /dev/dasda1 0
+ mke2fs 1.47.0 (5-Feb-2023)
+ Failed to create initramfs image
+ Error: Script could not determine dump parameters
+ e. Will succeed with makedumpfile installed.
[ Where problems could occur ]
* This is a metadata-only change (new Depends:), no code or
postinst logic is touched, so no functional regression in the
tools themselves is possible.
* Risk is limited to dependency resolution: adduser is
Priority: important, part of the standard/minimal seed, available
on every architecture/pocket s390-tools targets, and has no
conflicting requirements - so adding it as a plain Depends should
be a no-op on the vast majority of systems that already have it
installed (desktop, server, standard cloud images).
* A regression would show up as apt/dpkg being unable to satisfy
the new dependency (e.g. a broken/incomplete archive mirror or
pinning that excludes adduser) - unlikely, but would surface
immediately as an install/upgrade failure, not as silent breakage.
* Issues could also come up if adduser is mixed with (the lower
level) useradd.
[ Other Info ]
* Same fix already released in Resolute (2.41.0-0ubuntu4) and the
current devel series ("stonking"); Noble is the only remaining
supported series still affected.
* Uploaded to noble together with the unrelated fix for
LP: #2130425 in the same 2.31.0-0ubuntu5.4 upload; each bug is
independently justified.
__________
---Problem Description---
Package dependencies wrong/missing in s390-tools.
debootstrap fails to build minimal image with s390-tools package
included
---Steps to Reproduce---
debootstrap --variant=minbase \
--include=udev,kmod,s390-tools,s390-tools-zkey,,systemd,linux-image-generic \
--exclude=man,bash-completion \
--verbose \
resolute ./target
This fails
LOG OUTPUT:
Setting up s390-tools (2.41.0-0ubuntu3) ...
/var/lib/dpkg/info/s390-tools.postinst: 11: addgroup: not found
dpkg: error processing package s390-tools (--configure):
old s390-tools package postinst maintainer script subprocess failed with
exit status 127
---uname output---
Linux hurlnxlr 6.8.0-117-generic #117-Ubuntu SMP Thu May 7 21:01:36 UTC 2026
s390x s390x s390x GNU/Linux
Machine Type = 9175-7F0
The userspace tool has the following bit modes: both
Userspace package: s390-tools
Userspace tool common name: s390-tools package
Docker containers running Ubuntu 25.10 are affected too.
s390-tools cannot be installed without manually adding the adduser package as
a dependency.
--
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Bugs, which is subscribed to Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2162891
Title:
[SRU] Package dependencies wrong/missing in s390-tools
To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu-z-systems/+bug/2162891/+subscriptions
--
ubuntu-bugs mailing list
[email protected]
https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
