Bug#205997: /usr/bin/apt-get: package's new versions ignored after failed config

[Dan Jacobson <jidanni@jidanni.org>]

Package: apt
Version: 0.5.9
Severity: normal
File: /usr/bin/apt-get

Consider the case of netbase 4.11, a package with a broken script that
fails configuration.

Then one does apt-get update and 4.13 is now the candidate as seen in
apt-cache policy.

However doing a
apt-get install
or
apt-get install most_anything
[other than apt-get install netbase (or probably its dependencies too)]
will still insist in trying to install 4.11.
-- Package-specific info:

-- apt-config dump --

APT "";
APT::Architecture "i386";
APT::Build-Essential "";
APT::Build-Essential:: "build-essential";
APT::Get "";
APT::Get::List-Cleanup "false";
APT::Cache-Limit "16777216";
Dir "/";
Dir::State "var/lib/apt/";
Dir::State::lists "lists/";
Dir::State::cdroms "cdroms.list";
Dir::State::userstatus "status.user";
Dir::State::status "/var/lib/dpkg/status";
Dir::Cache "var/cache/apt/";
Dir::Cache::archives "archives/";
Dir::Cache::srcpkgcache "srcpkgcache.bin";
Dir::Cache::pkgcache "pkgcache.bin";
Dir::Etc "etc/apt/";
Dir::Etc::sourcelist "sources.list";
Dir::Etc::vendorlist "vendors.list";
Dir::Etc::vendorparts "vendors.list.d";
Dir::Etc::main "apt.conf";
Dir::Etc::parts "apt.conf.d";
Dir::Etc::preferences "preferences";
Dir::Bin "";
Dir::Bin::methods "/usr/lib/apt/methods";
Dir::Bin::dpkg "/usr/bin/dpkg";
DPkg "";
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs "";
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs:: "/usr/bin/apt-listchanges --apt || test $? -ne 10";
DPkg::Pre-Install-Pkgs:: "/usr/sbin/dpkg-preconfigure --apt || true";
DPkg::Tools "";
DPkg::Tools::Options "";
DPkg::Tools::Options::/usr/bin/apt-listchanges "";
DPkg::Tools::Options::/usr/bin/apt-listchanges::Version "2";

-- /etc/apt/sources.list --

deb     http://debian.linux.org.tw/debian        sid        main contrib non-free
deb     http://debian.linux.org.tw/debian-non-US sid/non-US main contrib non-free

-- System Information:
Debian Release: testing/unstable
Architecture: i386
Kernel: Linux debian 2.4.21-1-k7 #2 Mon Jun 16 22:23:16 EST 2003 i686
Locale: LANG=zh_TW.Big5, LC_CTYPE=zh_TW.Big5

Versions of packages apt depends on:
ii  libc6                      2.3.2-2       GNU C Library: Shared libraries an
ii  libgcc1                    1:3.3.2-0pre1 GCC support library
ii  libstdc++5                 1:3.3.1-0rc1  The GNU Standard C++ Library v3

-- no debconf information