Ubuntu
gnome-system-tools package

Users and Groups tool fails to authenticate.

Bug #349361 reported by crf
10
This bug affects 1 person
Affects Status Importance Assigned to Milestone
GST
Fix Released
Medium
gnome-system-tools (Ubuntu)
Fix Released
Medium
Unassigned

Bug Description

Binary package hint: gnome-system-tools

The "Users and Groups" tools fails to authenticate if the password is not entered quickly. The tool is located at SYSTEM -> ADMINISTRATION -> Users and Groups

choose the users and groups administration tool from the settings.
click unlock. An authenticate window will come up.
Don't type anything, just wait a few seconds. (About 8 seconds for me. If you type your password fast, the bug won't happen.)
An error message window will appear under the authenticate window: "Could not authenticate, An unexpected error has occurred."

The program now will not work properly (won't authenticate any user, so far as I can tell), unless you shut it down and try again.

---
If you then do finish entering your password in the authenticate window, and close the error dialog, the program will not have authenticated you. Now clicking the unlock button anew just puts up the "Could not authenticate" dialog straight away, without running an authenticate window. You have to shut the program down and try it again.

To get it to work, try running it again and just type your password fast.
---
Ubuntu 9.04

See original description
Revision history for this message
Jon Charge (seropith) wrote :

Reproduced.

Changed in gnome-system-tools:
status: New → Confirmed
Revision history for this message
Jon Charge (seropith) wrote :

I was able to reproduce the steps above with a similar result. I took 10 seconds on each password entry attempt. The first two simply did not take, with no error message. The third attempt produced the error message.

description: updated
Revision history for this message
Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson) wrote :

This happens because the DBus call to the Policykit agent uses the default DBus timeout (10 seconds I think). The applications shouldn't assume they will get a response within 10 seconds, as the response only arrives after the user typed in their password.

I can't confirm the other behaviour you describe though. For me, just closing the Policykit authentication dialog and clicking Unlock again to open a new one works for me, without having to close the application. After looking through the code, I see no reason why this wouldn't work for you.

Changed in gnome-system-tools (Ubuntu):
importance: Undecided → Medium
Revision history for this message
Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson) wrote :

Here's a debdiff to fix this. I'll send this upstream after dinner.

Revision history for this message
Martin Pitt (pitti) wrote :

Good catch. I do a similar thing in jockey, except that I set the timeout to 86400 there (1 day). But INT_MAX is fine.

Taking for sponsoring.

Revision history for this message
Launchpad Janitor (janitor) wrote :

This bug was fixed in the package gnome-system-tools - 2.22.2-0ubuntu3

---------------
gnome-system-tools (2.22.2-0ubuntu3) jaunty; urgency=low

  * debian/patches/93_polkit_dbus_timeout.patch:
    - Don't use default DBus timeout when waiting for a reply
      from the Policykit agent. The timeout is too short for
      some users to enter their password (LP: #349361).

 -- Chris Coulson <email address hidden> Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:48:28 +0100

Changed in gnome-system-tools (Ubuntu):
status: Confirmed → Fix Released
Revision history for this message
Chris Coulson (chrisccoulson) wrote :

I've sent this on to http://bugzilla.gnome.org/show_bug.cgi?id=578037 now.

Revision history for this message
crf (chrisfahlman) wrote :

Here is a video showing it not working after the password timeout thing.

Bug Watch Updater (bug-watch-updater)
Changed in gst:
status: Unknown → New
Revision history for this message
Linux Is Pure Pwnage (nospam5555) wrote :

I had this problem too but I didn't know that I had to turn back on policykit in rcconf.

Hope this helps others!

Bug Watch Updater (bug-watch-updater)
Changed in gst:
importance: Unknown → Medium
status: New → Fix Released
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