Red Hat Bugzilla – Bug 60338
crontab cannot update cron file if /tmp is a link.
Last modified: 2007-04-18 12:40:37 EDT
Description of Problem: vixie-cron's crontab program seems unable to handle storing temporary files in /tmp when /tmp is a symlinked directory. Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): vixie-cron-3.0.1-63 How Reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Move /tmp to, for example, /var/you_better_not_leave_junk_here/ and create a suitable softlink. 2. crontab -e and create a valid entry. 3. Observe output: "crontab.26839" 1L, 48C written crontab: no changes made to crontab 4. Notice absence of /var/spool/cron/root 5. Try again. 6. Try again. 7. Try again 8. Formulate vixie-cron conspiracy theories. Actual Results: Wind catches lily scatt'ring petals to the wind -- crontab: no changes Expected Results: A file in /var/spool/cron/ Additional Information: Confirmed problem does not manifest on stock (ie. real /tmp/ directory) 7.2 machine.
I think this is actually an issue with vi.
It is a bug of vi.
*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 37771 ***
I do not understand how this is a duplicate of 37771. That is an "exploit", while this is a limitation. Even with the latest vim updates, 6.1-18.7x.2, I am still unable to run a successful 'crontab -e' while /tmp is a link to /usr/temp. I am running RH7.3. Basically what i need to know is this going to be fixed, or should I look into other alternatives.