Bug#1125985: dpkg-buildpackage rejects empty Uploaders

Hi!

On Tue, 2026-01-20 at 03:05:01 +0200, Adrian Bunk wrote:
> Package: dpkg-dev
> Version: 1.23.4
> Severity: serious
> Tags: ftbfs
> Control: affects -1 src:atomicparsley

> dpkg 1.23.3 -> 1.23.4 causes the following FTBFS:
> 
> https://buildd.debian.org/status/fetch.php?pkg=atomicparsley&arch=arm64&ver=20240608.083822.1ed9031-1%2Bb1&stamp=1768866216&raw=0

> ...
>  dpkg-source --before-build .
> dpkg-buildpackage: info: host architecture arm64
> dpkg-source: error: '' is not a valid email address list
> dpkg-buildpackage: error: dpkg-source --before-build . subprocess failed with exit status 25
> 
> 
> Relevant part of debian/control:
>   Maintainer: Jonas Smedegaard <[email protected]>
>   Uploaders:
> 
> 
> Policy 5.1. says:
>   Empty field values are only permitted in source package template control files (debian/control). Such fields are ignored.

Hmm, I don't think having empty fields for which no substitution
variables get applied, makes much sense. Although I guess this could
(in general) happen as the product of, for example, a generated
debian/control (from say debian/control.in, but ahem, meh). In any
case, thanks for the report! And at least for now I'll make it not
fail on that, given that this is a regression for a documented behavior
both in the Debian Policy and in the dpkg documentation.

(Will push and upload tomorrow.)

Thanks,
Guillem