Replicable segfault in Jessie when importing .ovpn files

[RainmakerRaw]

I registered here just to try to report this bug to someone who can help, and hopefully raise it through the appropriate channels. I've been a GNU/Linux user for over a decade, mostly Debian and Mint but the last couple of years also Arch. I have to admit that as I type I only run a headless Wheezy server (not affected) and am currently just experimenting with Jessie VMs and later a live USB on bare metal. I was looking to move an existing Arch box back to Debian testing for my personal use, which is how I found this bug (a showstopper for me) to begin with.

Attempting to import .ovpn files into Jessie via network-manager's applet in MATE, Cinnamon or XFCE results in a segfault every time. The GUI disappears and a segfault is logged. This has been confirmed for me by another Jessie user on a tech forum I frequent, which I asked him to do before I troubled you guys with a 'report'. Steps to reproduce:

1) Install Jessie from netinstall (selecting Debian base packages, print server and MATE desktop for example)
2) At the desktop open a shell and 'apt-get update && apt-get install network-manager-openvpn-gnome' (and thus its dependencies)
3) Click the network-manager applet and go to Network Settings > Add > Import a VPN configuration
4) After locating the .ovpn double click it and the GUI disappears. Segfault.

Unlike Cinnamon, XFCE or MATE (which all crash this way) Gnome3 works perfectly and then continues to connect to a VPN just fine. That's strange as I'm relying on network-manager-openvpn-gnome in the other DEs too as far as I know. While I don't have the actual log to hand, here's the lines from a Linux Mint Debian Edition 2 (Betsy, based on Jessie) log file when I just tried - and succeeded - to replicate it in that distro too. I assume since they share the code base that the log is still relevant here until I can get Jessie back on my machine to confirm (if replies confirm it's worthwhile to do so).

Code: Select all

Apr  8 15:37:01 localhost kernel: [  838.015221] nm-connection-e[5613]: segfault at 1119140 ip 0000000001119140 sp 00007ffc20e619c8 error 15
Apr  8 16:10:21 localhost kernel: [ 2835.298354] nm-connection-e[6114]: segfault at e37990 ip 0000000000e37990 sp 00007ffc17743f38 error 15

KDE is most aberrant and potentially dangerous of the buggy DEs (at least to users in oppressive countries). It is the only broken DE which doesn't segfault. Instead it accepts the .ovpn and loads it to the list of available connections. When connecting it says 'connected to VPN XYZ', but in reality the routing table is unchanged, there's no tun interface and the traffic is really still going over the original ISP WAN IP while the GUI reports to the user that they are secured. That's a dangerous security issue for many vulnerable users in volatile regimes worldwide. At least XFCE, Cinnamon and MATE have the grace to segfault.

I would appreciate any help, feedback and assistance with raising this with the appropriate people so it can be fixed. Jessie is in freeze if I understand correctly, but this counts as a pretty serious flaw, surely? Anyway I thought I'd better try to raise it somewhere at least. Thanks in advance for any assistance.

[dasein]

I registered here just to try to report this bug...

Great, except this is a support venue, not a BTS, and is made up of end users, not devs.

Try a search for something obvious like how to report a bug in debian at your favorite search engine. (Though I beseech you to please check first for an existing bug report, lest you file a duplicate.)

[RainmakerRaw]

As I said I came here for help with exactly that. I'm fully aware of the nature of the forum. Debian's bug submissions are one of the more... convoluted... I've encountered. At least coming from a user wanting to submit their first report to help out the communiuty. I already checked bug reports in Debian (and Mint and Ubuntu) and the only mention is of this exact behaviour in bugs from 2013 which were patched in all three distros at the time. Debian's bug testing page asks users to install and run reportbug (no environment available at present to do this in) or email a specific format I don't have to the submit address. Yes, I already Googled and RTFM, and as I requested in the first line of my OP I was looking for help in reporting this to the right channels. But thanks for the suggestion.

Again, I was looking for some assistance with the process or even better confirmation from another user with a live install who might be more experienced with Debian's BTS who might be inclined to help out. My only Debian install these days is wheezy on a headless/VPS install serving http/ftp/imap etc. My main desktop runs Arch, but when I saw this bug despite Jessie being frozen I thought it might be worth mentioning. Thanks anway.

[dilberts_left_nut]

https://www.debian.org/Bugs/Reporting

[RainmakerRaw]

Jeeze lol. Never mind guys. Thanks anyway.

[TheExplorer]

I can confirm the bug. The same here.

RainmakerRaw, have you already reported it on the bugtracker? If not, I'll do it then.

[RainmakerRaw]

No mate I didn't bother. There are bug reports stretching back that have gone ignored. Jessie is full of all kinds of QC issues, even down to calling it' Sid' on the installer. I went back to a more polished and reliable distro. Good luck with the bug report, I'd still be interested in a link so I can follow it. Cheers.

[TheExplorer]

The bug report is here: https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugrepo ... bug=744128

But it is being ignored, you were right... New Debian release is too buggy for me and I reinstalled the previous one (Wheezy). All this systemd stuff makes me crazy when you simply don't have the good old control over the system: issues with openvpn and other stuff required for my work.

[Soul Singin']

I struggled with the same bug until I found this thread. Thank you!

I backported the network manager 1.0.8 packages (from Snapshot Debian) to a fresh installation of Debian Jessie. You can download them from my website.

After installing them, network manager will import Open VPN files, but there's one more hitch. You must edit the "ifupdown" section of /etc/NetworkManager/NetworkManager.conf, so that "managed=true". For example:

Code: Select all

[main]
plugins=ifupdown,keyfile

[ifupdown]
managed=true

I hope this helps!
.