More on selinux-default policy install probs

[Dale Amon <amon@vnl.com>]

Russ, I've a few minutes free this evening to dig into
the package problems and as a starter I suggest you experiment
with a way around this:

Attempt to install any old package after selinux-default-policy fails:

# dpkg -i dpkg-dev_1.10.18_all.deb 
(Reading database ... 15591 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace dpkg-dev 1.10.18 (using dpkg-dev_1.10.18_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement dpkg-dev ...
Setting up dpkg-dev (1.10.18) ...
/etc/selinux does not exist, aborting!
run-parts: /etc/dpkg/postinst.d/selinux exited with return code 1
"/bin/run-parts --arg=dpkg-dev /etc/dpkg/postinst.d" failed: 256
dpkg: error processing dpkg-dev (--install):
 1Error running trigger postinst: No such file or directory
Errors were encountered while processing:
 dpkg-dev

This happens because for some reason because /etc/selinux doesn't 
exist... in fact there is only a /usr/share/selinux/policy/default 
and no current left behind. Your postint.d script explicitely
forces a fail on every package install because of it.

Removing just the post install hook:

# mv /etc/dpkg/postinst.d/selinux /root/selinux

Allows normal dpkg installing to work again:

# dpkg -i dpkg-dev_1.10.18_all.deb 
(Reading database ... 15591 files and directories currently installed.)
Preparing to replace dpkg-dev 1.10.18 (using dpkg-dev_1.10.18_all.deb) ...
Unpacking replacement dpkg-dev ...
Setting up dpkg-dev (1.10.18) ...

-------------------------------

I'll try to dig deeper... for one I'd like to figure out why
the policy package install didn't create the link. As you can
probably guess I was installing dpkg-dev on the loopback image
so I can figure out what you've done to me ;-)

If this is something that could happen to anyone
who "just tries" installing selinux-default-policy
for the hell of it on a normal debian machine, it
could cause a bit of a problem for them.

-- 
------------------------------------------------------
   Dale Amon     amon@islandone.org    +44-7802-188325
       International linux systems consultancy
     Hardware & software system design, security
    and networking, systems programming and Admin
	      "Have Laptop, Will Travel"
------------------------------------------------------

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