[Bug 2130471] Re: package tzdata 2025b-3ubuntu1 failed to install/upgrade due to invalid date parsing in postinst

[Timo Aaltonen]

this has landed in resolute-proposed..

** Changed in: tzdata (Ubuntu)
       Status: In Progress => Fix Committed

** Changed in: tzdata (Ubuntu Questing)
       Status: In Progress => Fix Committed

** Tags added: verification-needed verification-needed-questing

-- 
You received this bug notification because you are a member of Ubuntu
Foundations Bugs, which is subscribed to rust-coreutils in Ubuntu.
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2130471

Title:
  package tzdata 2025b-3ubuntu1 failed to install/upgrade due to invalid
  date parsing in postinst

Status in rust-coreutils:
  New
Status in rust-coreutils package in Ubuntu:
  Triaged
Status in tzdata package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Committed
Status in rust-coreutils source package in Questing:
  New
Status in tzdata source package in Questing:
  Fix Committed

Bug description:
  [ Impact ]

   * Rust coreutils 0.2.x date doesn't support some specific dates/TZ
     combinations. This namely breaks postinst script of tzdata, leading
     to broken upgrades if they happen on the 31st of some months, with
     negative UTC offset.

   * The bug does not appear in upstream rust-coreutils, though they since
     have overhauled most of the code and changed date crates.

   * Workaround in tzdata won't fix any other calling of bin/date with affected
     input. Those will continue to break in scripts.

  [ Test Plan ]

   * dpkg-reconfigure tzdata
     select Americas
     select Toronto

   * gnudate -s 'Mar 31 22:01:01 UTC 2026'

   * apt install --reinstall tzdata

  
  [ Where problems could occur ]

   * The change surfaces an explicit dependency to gnu-coreutils in the tzdata
     package, as the state of default coreutils is still in flux.
     Generally, coreutils dependency is left out as implicit.
     This could possibly introduce dependency order issues in upgrades.

   * The fix is strictly on tzdata, but if availaibility of gnudate changes,
     that could break the tzdata postinst script again.
     The explicit dependency on gnu-coreutils should trigger an autopkgtest run
     and flag it in that case.

   * The change is unlikely to break otherwise as gnu date was the default until
     Ubuntu 25.10

  [ Other Info ]

   * The patch might be dropped once we merge rust-coreutils 0.4.0
     The date code and dependencies were overhauled between upstream commits
     b818481e5f2..4e605cc51004

  
  [Original description]

  Rust coreutils date doesn't support some specific dates/TZ
  combinations

  This one doesn't work:
  TZ=America/Toronto date -d "$(LC_ALL=C TZ=UTC0 gnudate -d 'Fri Oct 31 22:52:02 UTC 2025')"
  While the same datetime works for paris:
  TZ=Europe/Paris date -d "$(LC_ALL=C TZ=UTC0 gnudate -d 'Fri Oct 31 22:52:02 UTC 2025')"
  While the first TZ works with some different date:
  TZ=America/Toronto date -d "$(LC_ALL=C TZ=UTC0 gnudate -d 'Wed Oct 21 22:52:02 UTC 2025')"
  Wed Oct 22 00:52:02 CEST 2025

  
  ProblemType: Package
  DistroRelease: Ubuntu 25.10
  Package: tzdata 2025b-3ubuntu1
  ProcVersionSignature: Ubuntu 6.14.0-35.35-generic 6.14.11
  Uname: Linux 6.14.0-35-generic x86_64
  NonfreeKernelModules: nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm nvidia_modeset nvidia
  ApportVersion: 2.33.1-0ubuntu3
  Architecture: amd64
  CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
  Date: Fri Oct 31 20:52:02 2025
  ErrorMessage: el subproceso instalado paquete tzdata script post-installation devolvió el código de salida de error 1
  InstallationDate: Installed on 2025-07-05 (118 days ago)
  InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 25.04 "Plucky Puffin" - Release amd64 (20250415.3)
  PackageArchitecture: all
  Python3Details: /usr/bin/python3.13, Python 3.13.7, python3-minimal, 3.13.7-1
  PythonDetails: N/A
  RebootRequiredPkgs: Error: path contained symlinks.
  RelatedPackageVersions:
   dpkg 1.22.21ubuntu3.1
   apt  3.1.6ubuntu2
  SourcePackage: tzdata
  Title: package tzdata 2025b-3ubuntu1 failed to install/upgrade: el subproceso instalado paquete tzdata script post-installation devolvió el código de salida de error 1
  UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to questing on 2025-11-01 (0 days ago)

To manage notifications about this bug go to:
https://bugs.launchpad.net/rust-coreutils/+bug/2130471/+subscriptions