Debian Bug report logs - #1105057
gdm3: remove non-functional settings from default /etc/gdm3/greeter.dconf-defaults

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Message #5 received at submit@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org>

To: Debian Bug Tracking System <submit@bugs.debian.org>

Subject: gdm3: remove non-functional settings from default /etc/gdm3/greeter.dconf-defaults

Date: Sat, 10 May 2025 15:34:11 +0100

Package: gdm3
Version: 48.0-1
Severity: wishlist

/etc/gdm3/greeter.dconf-defaults includes example settings for several 
things that are no longer effective, either because they are intentionally 
no longer configurable as part of the upstream visual design or because 
they don't act on the UI toolkit that is now used:

* [org/gnome/desktop/interface] gtk-theme
* everything in [org/gnome/desktop/background]

We should drop those options from the default/example configuration 
file. If we are changing it *anyway* for #1105055 and/or #1105056, then 
this would be a good opportunity to clean out non-functional options.

Meanwhile, if there are options that we want to make higher-visibility, 
we could add them. I think the only option mentioned in 
https://help.gnome.org/admin/system-admin-guide/stable/login.html.en 
that is missing from our example file is:

    [org/gnome/login-screen]
    enable-fingerprint-authentication=false

which might make sense to add.

    smcv

Message #8 received at 1105057-submitter@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Simon McVittie <noreply@salsa.debian.org>

To: 1105057-submitter@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Bug#1105057 marked as pending in gdm3

Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2025 22:35:02 +0000

Control: tag -1 pending

Hello,

Bug #1105057 in gdm3 reported by you has been fixed in the
Git repository and is awaiting an upload. You can see the commit
message below and you can check the diff of the fix at:

https://salsa.debian.org/gnome-team/gdm/-/commit/3028b5eb9aa444ee0c9e576798c435fa9378e8c9

------------------------------------------------------------------------
d/greeter.dconf-defaults: Remove non-functional theming options

The visual design of the greeter (login prompt) is no longer intended
to be configurable, and in particular the background is no longer
configurable, so none of the background-related settings have any effect.

The greeter also does not use GTK, so changing the GTK theme has no
effect on it.

Remove these options from the default configuration file so that they
will not mislead sysadmins.

Closes: #1105057
------------------------------------------------------------------------

(this message was generated automatically)
-- 
Greetings

https://bugs.debian.org/1105057

Message #15 received at 1105057-close@bugs.debian.org (full text, mbox, reply):

From: Debian FTP Masters <ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org>

To: 1105057-close@bugs.debian.org

Subject: Bug#1105057: fixed in gdm3 48.0-2

Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2025 22:49:03 +0000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Source: gdm3
Source-Version: 48.0-2
Done: Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org>

We believe that the bug you reported is fixed in the latest version of
gdm3, which is due to be installed in the Debian FTP archive.

A summary of the changes between this version and the previous one is
attached.

Thank you for reporting the bug, which will now be closed.  If you
have further comments please address them to 1105057@bugs.debian.org,
and the maintainer will reopen the bug report if appropriate.

Debian distribution maintenance software
pp.
Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org> (supplier of updated gdm3 package)

(This message was generated automatically at their request; if you
believe that there is a problem with it please contact the archive
administrators by mailing ftpmaster@ftp-master.debian.org)


-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA512

Format: 1.8
Date: Sun, 13 Jul 2025 20:08:32 +0100
Source: gdm3
Architecture: source
Version: 48.0-2
Distribution: unstable
Urgency: medium
Maintainer: Debian GNOME Maintainers <pkg-gnome-maintainers@lists.alioth.debian.org>
Changed-By: Simon McVittie <smcv@debian.org>
Closes: 1051785 1096689 1105057
Changes:
 gdm3 (48.0-2) unstable; urgency=medium
 .
   * Team upload
   * d/greeter.dconf-defaults: Remove non-functional theming options.
     The visual design of the greeter (login prompt) is no longer intended
     to be configurable, and in particular the background is no longer
     configurable, so none of the background-related settings have any
     effect. The greeter also does not use GTK, so changing the GTK
     theme has no effect on it.
     Remove these options from the default configuration file so that
     they will not mislead sysadmins. (Closes: #1105057)
   * d/greeter.dconf-defaults: Add some useful example options.
     Disabling fingerprint authentication is one of the examples given
     in the GNOME System Administration Guide. The steps from that guide
     won't actually work as-is on Debian (because we use a different
     username for the greeter, #1107944) but we can make it as easy as
     possible to do the equivalent.
     Meanwhile, disabling smartcard authentication is a way to avoid the
     presence of a smartcard having the side-effect of disabling the user
     list, and in some configurations also the ability to log in with a
     password (#1051785).
   * d/gdm3.alternatives: When smart card authentication is re-enabled,
     make gdm-smartcard-sssd-or-password the default.
     With the previous default, gdm-smartcard-sssd-exclusive, if a smart
     card was plugged in and libpam-sss was installed, we would reject
     attempts to log in with a password. This is the most-hardened choice
     if smart cards are being used for authentication, but prevents login
     if the smart card has not been enrolled for authentication and is
     actually being used for some other purpose such as OpenPGP or X509.
     (Closes: #1051785)
   * d/greeter.dconf-defaults: Disable smartcard authentication by default.
     Enabling smartcard authentication has side-effects on other aspects of
     greeter behaviour if a compatible smartcard happens to be connected:
     in particular, it disables the user list, resulting in users being
     required to type their username to log in.
     Enrolling smartcards to be used for authentication requires sysadmin
     action, so it seems reasonable to require the sysadmin to take action
     to enable it after they have done the necessary enrolment step.
     (Closes: #1051785)
   * d/p/gdm-settings-utils-rename-variable-to-fix-build-with-gcc-.patch:
     Add patch from upstream 49.alpha.0 to fix FTBFS in C23 mode.
     This won't become relevant until gcc 15 becomes the default during
     the forky cycle, but is a harmless change while we're uploading anyway.
     (Closes: #1096689)
Checksums-Sha1:
 dfba5596e42c01ed7df3dbecb752d19cebcd1c86 3208 gdm3_48.0-2.dsc
 b9e359e03e6c5273964e159948562315de5071b8 86860 gdm3_48.0-2.debian.tar.xz
 a9269b9fa53256868cab293e376974e9ca840170 16401 gdm3_48.0-2_source.buildinfo
Checksums-Sha256:
 8eadada57b7f29f20cedfabc95434bf64c8342ac9a33d6d526cac103b51a3ecf 3208 gdm3_48.0-2.dsc
 3bacef59fee6fe06ccb15c81e8313fa3a68228f6289b889b518c43cfc5a21242 86860 gdm3_48.0-2.debian.tar.xz
 df4bea5c47acc826e0dc12e7bb66ccc80bff15c15d98300b0501a69f5bd01efc 16401 gdm3_48.0-2_source.buildinfo
Files:
 24af7805ab175fd3431c620cac0d5e0b 3208 gnome optional gdm3_48.0-2.dsc
 3cf84c15def8c2cb1e0c1668eea0b361 86860 gnome optional gdm3_48.0-2.debian.tar.xz
 fa6a4aa5f485e9a782cb1574551ce42a 16401 gnome optional gdm3_48.0-2_source.buildinfo

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