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[Bug 1342875] Re: Unable to delete currently logged in user

 

I tested the vivid package.   1:4.1.5.1-1.1ubuntu3 recreated the issue
but in 1:4.1.5.1-1.1ubuntu4 --force works.

Requesting SRU of fixes from bug #1436937 back to Trusty/Utopic.

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1342875

Title:
  Unable to delete currently logged in user

Status in shadow package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged
Status in shadow source package in Trusty:
  Won't Fix
Status in shadow source package in Utopic:
  Won't Fix

Bug description:
  A user can not delete themselves using the command 'sudo userdel -rf
  <username>', this is common in cloud tools that clean up running
  images prior to capture.  A quick test shows that this worked from
  Precise (didn't look back further) to Raring and stopped working with
  Saucy.

  Here's a quick example of the failure (from trusty):
  # sudo adduser test
  # sudo usermod -aG sudo test
  ## As the 'test' user
  # sudo userdel -rf test
  userdel: user test is currently used by process 9600
  userdel: cannot open /etc/subuid
  ## User is not removed

  Previously (output from precise)
  # sudo userdel -rf test
  userdel: user test is currently logged in
  userdel: warning: can't remove /var/mail/test: No such file or directory
  ## User is removed

  This is being run as the last command by tools that remove the
  'ubuntu' user to clean the image prior to capture.  This had
  previously worked and it is preferable that this could be made to work
  again.  The alternative is removal by root, but the root user on cloud
  images is locked down and we would not want the user to enable root to
  run userdel on the risk of it not getting disabled properly prior to
  image capture.

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References