Bug#1129339: apt hangs for 25 seconds before acting if logind isn't running

On Mon, Mar 02, 2026 at 08:33:59PM +0100, Julian Andres Klode wrote:
> On Mon, Mar 02, 2026 at 04:10:46PM +0100, [email protected] wrote:
> > On Mon, Mar 02, 2026 at 02:27:38PM +0100, Julian Andres Klode wrote:
> > > Control: reassign -1 systemd
> > > 
> > > On Sun, Mar 01, 2026 at 09:32:42AM +0100, g1 wrote:
> > > > 
> > > > Before invoking dpkg to perform the work, apt-get connects to DBUS in
> > > > order to make the seat-manager inhibit shutdowns.
> > > > 
> > > > If you don't have systemd-logind or elogind running (because e.g. you
> > > > were forced to install elogind as a dependency, but you disabled
> > > > it), this hangs for 25 seconds, until dbus reports timeout on
> > > > org.freedesktop.login1.
> > > 
> > > This sounds like a bug in systemd or dbus or something; but likely this
> > > is not a supported system configuration.
> > > 
> > 
> > Perhaps unsupported in Ubuntu, not in Debian.
> 
> Your configuration causes a configured dbus service to timeout; that
> is a misconfiguration and you need to address it.
> 
> Systems without logind advertisedv on the dbus system bus will
> not be timing out; as you can trivially verify by running in a
> chroot.

No need to use a chroot.  Elogind ships its manifest
/usr/share/dbus-1/system-services/org.freedesktop.login1.service 

    [D-BUS Service]
    Name=org.freedesktop.login1
    # By default, Dbus activation of elogind is disabled. The daemon is started via an init script.
    # Exec=/usr/libexec/elogind --daemon
    Exec=/bin/true
    User=root

which

- advertises elogind

- prevents dbus from attempting to start the daemon (by design, because
  it lacks the necessary privileges)

Since elogind is installed on my system only because occasionally I need
to use pcscd, which brings in elogind as a hard dependency (in trixie,
not in bookworm), having the daemon disabled is not blasphemy.

APT depending on dbus for operation is a gratuitous footgun.

Please don't label "misconfiguration" all that differs from your own
configuration: debian has alternatives in places where ubuntu/fedora/arch
have not, and that's one of the reasons for its existence.