[MIR] network-manager-pptp

Binary package hint: network-manager-pptp

Availability:

The network-manager-pptp package is in universe.
http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/pool/universe/n/network-manager-pptp/

Rationale:

The package is useful for a large part of our user base. It is essential for the majority of Russian DSL users - they can't get online without it.

Security:

It is my understanding that security vulnerabilities for the PPTP plugin of NetworkManager would get filed under the NetworkManager product, which has been affected by 3 Secunia advisories, and 4 Vulnerabilities in the past 7 years. 6 CVE entries are listed against NetworkManager over the past four years on the cve.mitre.org master copy CVE list.

Quality assurance:

Package is currently installable and builds cleanly. It does not ask debconf questions. The plugin can be installed and configured in a matter of installing the package and entering values for two fields through the NetworkManager connection editor for basic, standard functionality.

network-manager-pptp currently lists 54 open bugs in Launchpad, 2 in Debian and 7 upstream (GNOME). Many are likely to relate to usual configurations or requirements. Upstream is quite responsive (often in a matter of hours) and the upstream code is kept on the Gnome Git repository.

https://bugs.edge.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager-pptp
http://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/pkgreport.cgi?package=network-manager-pptp
https://bugzilla.gnome.org/buglist.cgi?query_format=advanced;order=Importance;bug_status=UNCONFIRMED;bug_status=NEW;bug_status=ASSIGNED;bug_status=REOPENED;bug_status=NEEDINFO;component=VPN:%20pptp;product=NetworkManager

New versions of the package are often uploaded to Ubuntu prior to reaching Debian, the core maintaining team consists of the ~network-manager LP team.

UI standards:

network-manager-pptp is a plugin for NetworkManager. It does not ship a .desktop file, but the configuration dialog is ships separately from the core NetworkManager application are fully translated.

Dependencies:

All build and binary dependencies are already in main.

Standards compliance:

The package is FHS and Debian Policy compliant.
The source package is simple, and contains only the code required to support daily builds from the git tree.

Maintenance:

network-manager-pptp may need to be updated to use the latest code from upstream to include recent bug fixes. This process is currently automated in daily builds. Patches can be added when required; cdbs is used to handle patches.

Background information:

network-manager-pptp is used as a plugin for NetworkManager to establish PPTP based VPN connections. PPTP VPN solutions include the default VPN infrastructure for Windows systems. Some ISPs additionally use PPTP to secure and authenticate DSL lines, some companies and universities also use PPTP as a method to allow remote access to teleworkers.