[Bug 1770233] Re: Login package changes MIN_UID in /etc/login.defs -> AccountsService/GDM then ignores existing user (UID 501) -> starts gnome-inital-setup to create user

[Tormod Ravnanger Landet]

This is my home laptop and I'm at work right now, but it is a 2013
MacBook Air and I'm reasonably confident that I have never reinstalled
Ubuntu---just upgraded periodically---so it was originally installed in
2013 or 2014. It is still working great (and things like suspend/resume
works much better now than back then).

If it is important I will try to remember to do something like this
https://askubuntu.com/a/54317 to figure out the exact version that was
first installed. Over all the experience of never having to reinstall
has been great and I cannot remember any previous major problems with
upgrading between versions.

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to shadow in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1770233

Title:
  Login package changes MIN_UID in /etc/login.defs ->
  AccountsService/GDM then ignores existing user (UID 501) -> starts
  gnome-inital-setup to create user

Status in shadow package in Ubuntu:
  New

Bug description:
  On May 8. 2018 I was prompted to upgrade from 17.10 to 18.04.

  The upgrade went smooth except that the installer asked me if it could
  make changes to /etc/login.defs. I thought it was supposed to not ask
  questions (and stall the upgrade if I was away from the computer), but
  I pressed yes and it continued. I pressed yes since I had not
  personally modified this file as far as I can remember and was not
  particularly attached to its contents.

  After reboot gnome-initial-setup wants me to create a new user. There
  is no (obvious) way to login with my old user, but Ctrl+Alt+F2 luckily
  worked---I could log in and all my files where still there. I tried
  changing UID_MIN in /etc/login.defs back to 500 from 1000 (I believe
  this was the change I was prompted about), but I still could not login
  graphically, so the /etc/login.defs change may have been unconnected
  to the bug.

  I was able to figure out that the offending program was called gnome-
  initial-setup and an "apt purge gnome-initial-setup" later I could log
  in as normal. I do not believe an average user could have figured this
  out (how many even know about the virtual terminals Ctrl+Alt+FX?).

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/shadow/+bug/1770233/+subscriptions