1038317 - Yellow window with Undefined entity error when migrating profiles with active language pack (esr, older ones) to newer branch without language pack update (e.g. 31 beta), should fall back to app locale

Status: RESOLVED INACTIVE

(Toolkit :: Add-ons Manager, defect)

Description

[Sebastian Hengst [:aryx] (needinfo me if it's about an intermittent or backout)]

Windows 8.1 64 bit

When migrating a Firefox profile with an active language pack from an older application version, e.g. 24.6.0esr, to a newer version, e.g. 31 beta (20140710141843), for which no language pack update will be offered, a yellow window with an Undefined entity error will be shown and the application is inaccessible (user has to launch safe mode to change the setting in about:config).

Steps to reproduce:
1. Launch Firefox 24.6.0esr and create a new profile.
2. Install the German language from https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.org/firefox/releases/24.6.0esr/win32/xpi/de.xpi
3. Open about:config and set general.useragent.locale to |de|
4. Close Firefox 24.6.0esr
5. Open the profile in Firefox 31.0 latest beta.
Actual result:
German language pack gets reported as incompatible.
For beta builds, searching for updates for the language pack will yield nothing. On release, users can skip the dialog.
After one of these actions, Firefox wil show a window with yellow background and the following Undefined entity error:

XML-Verarbeitungsfehler: Nicht definierte Entität
Adresse: chrome://browser/content/browser.xul
Zeile Nr. 213, Spalte 5:    <broadcaster id="bookmarkThisPageBroadcaster"
----^

As you can see, it still uses the German pack language for 24.6.0esr which lacks strings for 31.0. It should fall back to the application locale.

A migration from 30.0 to 31.0 latest beta successfully fell back to the application locale.

The bug also applies to Thunderbird.

Comment 1

[Axel Hecht [:Pike]]

Moving to add-ons.

language packs aren't compatible-by-default, and should fail the compat check.

Maybe there's a loophole in how that check's performed?

Comment 2

[Axel Hecht [:Pike]]

FYI, I extracted the install.rdf, and the maxVersion looks OK to me:

<RDF xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/02/22-rdf-syntax-ns#"
     xmlns:em="http://www.mozilla.org/2004/em-rdf#">
  <Description about="urn:mozilla:install-manifest"
               em:id="[e-mail]"
               em:name="Deutsch (DE) Language Pack"
               em:version="24.6.0"
               em:type="8"
               em:creator="Abdulkadir Topal">
    <em:contributor></em:contributor>

    <em:targetApplication>
      <Description>
        <em:id>{ec8030f7-c20a-464f-9b0e-13a3a9e97384}</em:id>
        <em:minVersion>24.6.0</em:minVersion>
        <em:maxVersion>24.*</em:maxVersion>
      </Description>
    </em:targetApplication>
  </Description>
</RDF>

Comment 3

[BMO Automation]

Per policy at https://wiki.mozilla.org/Bug_Triage/Projects/Bug_Handling/Bug_Husbandry#Inactive_Bugs. If this bug is not an enhancement request or a bug not present in a supported release of Firefox, then it may be reopened.