nspawn: Fix broken host links for container journals (#39727)

Commit 88252ca changed nspawn to always run from a temporary mount
directory (e.g., /tmp/nspawn-root-XXXXXX). This was a good
simplification for mount logic, but it unintentionally broke the
--link-journal feature.

The setup_journal() helper was subsequently passed this ephemeral path
instead of the persistent machine path (from --directory= or --image=).
This caused the host to create broken symlinks pointing to a temporary
directory that would soon be gone.

Fix this by storing the original path and plumbing it through to
setup_journal().

All other mount-related logic in outer_child() continues to use the
temporary `directory` variable.

Fixes: #39472

man/run0.xml

@@ -299,6 +299,10 @@
         group as a supplemental group (for which all polkit actions are allowed by default), but other
         privileges may be granted in the future as well when using this option.</para>
 
+        <para>Note that other (unprivileged) processes of the selected user will have privileges over the
+        invoked process. Consider not using this option in an environment where there might be malicious
+        processes running as the selected user.</para>
+
         <xi:include href="version-info.xml" xpointer="v259"/></listitem>
       </varlistentry>
 

src/libsystemd/sd-bus/bus-control.c

@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ static int default_request_name_handler(
                                 "Unable to request name, failing connection: %s",
                                 sd_bus_message_get_error(m)->message);
 
-                bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+                bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), -sd_bus_message_get_errno(m));
                 return 1;
         }
 
@@ -164,12 +164,12 @@ static int default_request_name_handler(
 
         case BUS_NAME_EXISTS:
                 log_debug("Requested service name already owned, failing connection.");
-                bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+                bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), -EEXIST);
                 return 1;
         }
 
         log_debug("Unexpected response from RequestName(), failing connection.");
-        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), -EPROTO);
         return 1;
 }
 
@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ static int default_release_name_handler(
                                 "Unable to release name, failing connection: %s",
                                 sd_bus_message_get_error(m)->message);
 
-                bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+                bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), -sd_bus_message_get_errno(m));
                 return 1;
         }
 
@@ -318,7 +318,7 @@ static int default_release_name_handler(
         }
 
         log_debug("Unexpected response from ReleaseName(), failing connection.");
-        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), -EPROTO);
         return 1;
 }
 

src/libsystemd/sd-bus/bus-internal.h

@@ -164,6 +164,7 @@ typedef struct sd_bus {
         BusState state;
         int input_fd, output_fd;
         int inotify_fd;
+        int exit_code;
         int message_version;
         int message_endian;
 
@@ -403,6 +404,6 @@ int bus_maybe_reply_error(sd_bus_message *m, int r, const sd_bus_error *e);
                         return sd_bus_error_set_errno(error, r);        \
         } while (false)
 
-void bus_enter_closing(sd_bus *bus);
+void bus_enter_closing(sd_bus *bus, int exit_code);
 
 void bus_set_state(sd_bus *bus, BusState state);

src/libsystemd/sd-bus/sd-bus.c

@@ -257,6 +257,7 @@ _public_ int sd_bus_new(sd_bus **ret) {
                 .input_fd = -EBADF,
                 .output_fd = -EBADF,
                 .inotify_fd = -EBADF,
+                .exit_code = EXIT_FAILURE,
                 .message_version = 1,
                 .creds_mask = SD_BUS_CREDS_WELL_KNOWN_NAMES|SD_BUS_CREDS_UNIQUE_NAME,
                 .accept_fd = true,
@@ -1813,13 +1814,14 @@ _public_ sd_bus* sd_bus_flush_close_unref(sd_bus *bus) {
         return sd_bus_close_unref(bus);
 }
 
-void bus_enter_closing(sd_bus *bus) {
+void bus_enter_closing(sd_bus *bus, int exit_code) {
         assert(bus);
 
         if (!IN_SET(bus->state, BUS_WATCH_BIND, BUS_OPENING, BUS_AUTHENTICATING, BUS_HELLO, BUS_RUNNING))
                 return;
 
         bus_set_state(bus, BUS_CLOSING);
+        bus->exit_code = exit_code;
 }
 
 /* Define manually so we can add the PID check */
@@ -2189,9 +2191,10 @@ _public_ int sd_bus_send(sd_bus *bus, sd_bus_message *_m, uint64_t *ret_cookie)
 
                 r = bus_write_message(bus, m, &idx);
                 if (ERRNO_IS_NEG_DISCONNECT(r)) {
-                        bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                        bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
                         return -ECONNRESET;
-                } else if (r < 0)
+                }
+                if (r < 0)
                         return r;
 
                 if (idx < BUS_MESSAGE_SIZE(m))  {
@@ -2486,7 +2489,7 @@ _public_ int sd_bus_call(
                 r = bus_read_message(bus);
                 if (r < 0) {
                         if (ERRNO_IS_DISCONNECT(r)) {
-                                bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                                bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
                                 r = -ECONNRESET;
                         }
 
@@ -2521,7 +2524,7 @@ _public_ int sd_bus_call(
                 r = dispatch_wqueue(bus);
                 if (r < 0) {
                         if (ERRNO_IS_DISCONNECT(r)) {
-                                bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                                bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
                                 r = -ECONNRESET;
                         }
 
@@ -3110,14 +3113,14 @@ static int bus_exit_now(sd_bus *bus, sd_event *event) {
                 event = bus->event;
 
         if (event)
-                return sd_event_exit(event, EXIT_FAILURE);
+                return sd_event_exit(event, bus->exit_code);
 
         exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
         assert_not_reached();
 }
 
 static int process_closing_reply_callback(sd_bus *bus, BusReplyCallback *c) {
-        _cleanup_(sd_bus_error_free) sd_bus_error error_buffer = SD_BUS_ERROR_NULL;
+        _cleanup_(sd_bus_error_free) sd_bus_error error = SD_BUS_ERROR_NULL, error_buffer = SD_BUS_ERROR_NULL;
         _cleanup_(sd_bus_message_unrefp) sd_bus_message *m = NULL;
         sd_bus_slot *slot;
         int r;
@@ -3125,11 +3128,12 @@ static int process_closing_reply_callback(sd_bus *bus, BusReplyCallback *c) {
         assert(bus);
         assert(c);
 
-        r = bus_message_new_synthetic_error(
-                        bus,
-                        c->cookie,
-                        &SD_BUS_ERROR_MAKE_CONST(SD_BUS_ERROR_NO_REPLY, "Connection terminated"),
-                        &m);
+        (void) sd_bus_error_set_errnof(
+                        &error,
+                        bus->exit_code < 0 ? bus->exit_code : -ETIMEDOUT,
+                        "Connection terminated");
+
+        r = bus_message_new_synthetic_error(bus, c->cookie, &error, &m);
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
@@ -3293,7 +3297,7 @@ static int bus_process_internal(sd_bus *bus, sd_bus_message **ret) {
         }
 
         if (ERRNO_IS_NEG_DISCONNECT(r)) {
-                bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
                 r = 1;
         } else if (r < 0)
                 return r;
@@ -3427,7 +3431,7 @@ _public_ int sd_bus_flush(sd_bus *bus) {
         for (;;) {
                 r = dispatch_wqueue(bus);
                 if (ERRNO_IS_NEG_DISCONNECT(r)) {
-                        bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                        bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
                         return -ECONNRESET;
                 } else if (r < 0)
                         return r;
@@ -3478,17 +3482,17 @@ static int add_match_callback(
 
         sd_bus_slot *match_slot = ASSERT_PTR(userdata);
         bool failed = false;
-        int r;
+        int r = 0;
 
         assert(m);
 
         sd_bus_slot_ref(match_slot);
 
         if (sd_bus_message_is_method_error(m, NULL)) {
-                log_debug_errno(sd_bus_message_get_errno(m),
-                                "Unable to add match %s, failing connection: %s",
-                                match_slot->match_callback.match_string,
-                                sd_bus_message_get_error(m)->message);
+                r = log_debug_errno(sd_bus_message_get_errno(m),
+                                    "Unable to add match %s, failing connection: %s",
+                                    match_slot->match_callback.match_string,
+                                    sd_bus_message_get_error(m)->message);
 
                 failed = true;
         } else
@@ -3518,7 +3522,7 @@ static int add_match_callback(
                 bus->current_userdata = userdata;
         } else {
                 if (failed) /* Generic failure handling: destroy the connection */
-                        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+                        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), r);
 
                 r = 1;
         }
@@ -3649,7 +3653,7 @@ static int io_callback(sd_event_source *s, int fd, uint32_t revents, void *userd
         r = sd_bus_process(bus, NULL);
         if (r < 0) {
                 log_debug_errno(r, "Processing of bus failed, closing down: %m");
-                bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
         }
 
         return 1;
@@ -3662,7 +3666,7 @@ static int time_callback(sd_event_source *s, uint64_t usec, void *userdata) {
         r = sd_bus_process(bus, NULL);
         if (r < 0) {
                 log_debug_errno(r, "Processing of bus failed, closing down: %m");
-                bus_enter_closing(bus);
+                bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
         }
 
         return 1;
@@ -3714,7 +3718,7 @@ static int prepare_callback(sd_event_source *s, void *userdata) {
 
 fail:
         log_debug_errno(r, "Preparing of bus events failed, closing down: %m");
-        bus_enter_closing(bus);
+        bus_enter_closing(bus, r);
 
         return 1;
 }

src/libsystemd/sd-bus/test-bus-watch-bind.c

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ static int method_exit(sd_bus_message *m, void *userdata, sd_bus_error *ret_erro
 
         ASSERT_OK(sd_bus_reply_method_return(m, NULL));
         /* Simulate D-Bus going away to test the bus_exit_now() path with exit_on_disconnect set */
-        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m));
+        bus_enter_closing(sd_bus_message_get_bus(m), EXIT_FAILURE);
         return 0;
 }
 

src/nspawn/nspawn.c

@@ -2551,12 +2551,14 @@ static int setup_hostname(void) {
         return 0;
 }
 
-static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range) {
+static int setup_journal(const char *root_dir, const char *persistent_path, uid_t chown_uid, uid_t chown_range) {
         _cleanup_free_ char *d = NULL;
         sd_id128_t this_id;
         bool try;
         int r;
 
+        assert(root_dir);
+
         /* Don't link journals in ephemeral mode */
         if (arg_ephemeral)
                 return 0;
@@ -2566,6 +2568,17 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
 
         try = arg_link_journal_try || arg_link_journal == LINK_AUTO;
 
+        if (!persistent_path) {
+                if (try) {
+                        log_debug("No persistent path available, skipping journal linking.");
+                        return 0;
+                } else
+                        return log_error_errno(
+                                        SYNTHETIC_ERRNO(ENOENT),
+                                        "Journal linking requested but no persistent directory available. "
+                                        "Use --directory, or --link-journal=auto/try-guest/try-host for optional linking.");
+        }
+
         r = sd_id128_get_machine(&this_id);
         if (r < 0)
                 return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to retrieve machine ID: %m");
@@ -2579,7 +2592,7 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
         }
 
         FOREACH_STRING(dirname, "/var", "/var/log", "/var/log/journal") {
-                r = userns_mkdir(directory, dirname, 0755, 0, 0);
+                r = userns_mkdir(root_dir, dirname, 0755, 0, 0);
                 if (r < 0) {
                         bool ignore = r == -EROFS && try;
                         log_full_errno(ignore ? LOG_DEBUG : LOG_ERR, r,
@@ -2592,10 +2605,14 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
         if (!p)
                 return log_oom();
 
-        _cleanup_free_ char *q = path_join(directory, p);
+        _cleanup_free_ char *q = path_join(persistent_path, p);
         if (!q)
                 return log_oom();
 
+        _cleanup_free_ char *container_path = path_join(root_dir, p);
+        if (!container_path)
+                return log_oom();
+
         if (path_is_mount_point(p) > 0) {
                 if (try)
                         return 0;
@@ -2604,12 +2621,14 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
                                        "%s: already a mount point, refusing to use for journal", p);
         }
 
-        if (path_is_mount_point(q) > 0) {
+        if (path_is_mount_point(container_path) > 0) {
                 if (try)
                         return 0;
 
-                return log_error_errno(SYNTHETIC_ERRNO(EEXIST),
-                                       "%s: already a mount point, refusing to use for journal", q);
+                return log_error_errno(
+                                SYNTHETIC_ERRNO(EEXIST),
+                                "%s: already a mount point, refusing to use for journal",
+                                container_path);
         }
 
         r = readlink_and_make_absolute(p, &d);
@@ -2617,9 +2636,9 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
                 if (IN_SET(arg_link_journal, LINK_GUEST, LINK_AUTO) &&
                     path_equal(d, q)) {
 
-                        r = userns_mkdir(directory, p, 0755, 0, 0);
+                        r = userns_mkdir(root_dir, p, 0755, 0, 0);
                         if (r < 0)
-                                log_warning_errno(r, "Failed to create directory %s: %m", q);
+                                log_warning_errno(r, "Failed to create directory %s: %m", container_path);
                         return 0;
                 }
 
@@ -2649,9 +2668,9 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
                                 return log_error_errno(errno, "Failed to symlink %s to %s: %m", q, p);
                 }
 
-                r = userns_mkdir(directory, p, 0755, 0, 0);
+                r = userns_mkdir(root_dir, p, 0755, 0, 0);
                 if (r < 0)
-                        log_warning_errno(r, "Failed to create directory %s: %m", q);
+                        log_warning_errno(r, "Failed to create directory %s: %m", container_path);
                 return 0;
         }
 
@@ -2671,25 +2690,25 @@ static int setup_journal(const char *directory, uid_t uid_shift, uid_t uid_range
         } else if (access(p, F_OK) < 0)
                 return 0;
 
-        if (dir_is_empty(q, /* ignore_hidden_or_backup= */ false) == 0)
-                log_warning("%s is not empty, proceeding anyway.", q);
+        if (dir_is_empty(container_path, /* ignore_hidden_or_backup= */ false) == 0)
+                log_warning("%s is not empty, proceeding anyway.", container_path);
 
-        r = userns_mkdir(directory, p, 0755, 0, 0);
+        r = userns_mkdir(root_dir, p, 0755, 0, 0);
         if (r < 0)
-                return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to create %s: %m", q);
+                return log_error_errno(r, "Failed to create %s: %m", container_path);
 
         return mount_custom(
-                        directory,
+                        root_dir,
                         &(CustomMount) {
                                 .type = CUSTOM_MOUNT_BIND,
-                                .options = (char*) (uid_is_valid(uid_shift) ? "rootidmap" : NULL),
+                                .options = (char*) (uid_is_valid(chown_uid) ? "rootidmap" : NULL),
                                 .source = p,
                                 .destination = p,
                                 .destination_uid = UID_INVALID,
                         },
                         /* n = */ 1,
-                        uid_shift,
-                        uid_range,
+                        chown_uid,
+                        chown_range,
                         arg_selinux_apifs_context,
                         MOUNT_NON_ROOT_ONLY);
 }
@@ -3861,6 +3880,7 @@ static DissectImageFlags determine_dissect_image_flags(void) {
 static int outer_child(
                 Barrier *barrier,
                 const char *directory,
+                const char *persistent_path,
                 int mount_fd,
                 DissectedImage *dissected_image,
                 int fd_outer_socket,
@@ -4267,7 +4287,7 @@ static int outer_child(
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
-        r = setup_journal(directory, chown_uid, chown_range);
+        r = setup_journal(directory, persistent_path, chown_uid, chown_range);
         if (r < 0)
                 return r;
 
@@ -5065,6 +5085,7 @@ static int load_oci_bundle(void) {
 
 static int run_container(
                 const char *directory,
+                const char *persistent_path,
                 int mount_fd,
                 DissectedImage *dissected_image,
                 int userns_fd,
@@ -5215,6 +5236,7 @@ static int run_container(
 
                 r = outer_child(&barrier,
                                 directory,
+                                persistent_path,
                                 mount_fd,
                                 dissected_image,
                                 fd_outer_socket_pair[1],
@@ -5927,6 +5949,7 @@ static int run(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         _cleanup_(dissected_image_unrefp) DissectedImage *dissected_image = NULL;
         _cleanup_(sd_netlink_unrefp) sd_netlink *nfnl = NULL;
         _cleanup_(pidref_done) PidRef pid = PIDREF_NULL;
+        _cleanup_free_ char *persistent_path_storage = NULL;
 
         log_setup();
 
@@ -6388,6 +6411,47 @@ static int run(int argc, char *argv[]) {
                         arg_architecture = dissected_image_architecture(dissected_image);
         }
 
+        /* Journal linking creates symlinks from the host's /var/log/journal/<uuid> to a persistent directory
+         * that survives container restarts, allowing journalctl -M to read container logs. But where that
+         * persistent directory is can be quite different depending on the mode:
+         *
+         * For --directory: The directory itself is the persistent location.
+         * For --image: Use /var/lib/machines/<machine-name> if it exists as a directory.
+         *
+         * Otherwise, we skip journal linking.
+         */
+        const char *persistent_path;
+        if (arg_directory)
+                persistent_path = arg_directory;
+        else if (arg_image) {
+                persistent_path_storage = path_join("/var/lib/machines", arg_machine);
+                if (!persistent_path_storage) {
+                        r = log_oom();
+                        goto finish;
+                }
+
+                /* Validate that the persistent path exists and is actually a directory. We cannot create it
+                 * ourselves as that would conflict with image management. */
+                struct stat st;
+                if (stat(persistent_path_storage, &st) < 0) {
+                        if (errno == ENOENT)
+                                log_debug("Persistent directory %s does not exist, skipping journal linking.",
+                                          persistent_path_storage);
+                        else
+                                log_warning_errno(
+                                                errno,
+                                                "Failed to access persistent directory %s, skipping journal linking: %m",
+                                                persistent_path_storage);
+                        persistent_path = NULL;
+                } else if (!S_ISDIR(st.st_mode)) {
+                        log_warning("%s exists but is not a directory, skipping journal linking.",
+                                    persistent_path_storage);
+                        persistent_path = NULL;
+                } else
+                        persistent_path = persistent_path_storage;
+        } else
+                assert_not_reached();
+
         /* Create a temporary place to mount stuff. */
         r = mkdtemp_malloc("/tmp/nspawn-root-XXXXXX", &rootdir);
         if (r < 0) {
@@ -6434,6 +6498,7 @@ static int run(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         for (;;) {
                 r = run_container(
                                 rootdir,
+                                persistent_path,
                                 mount_fd,
                                 dissected_image,
                                 userns_fd,

test/units/TEST-13-NSPAWN.nspawn.sh

@@ -1533,4 +1533,130 @@ testcase_cap_net_bind_service() {
     rm -fr "$root"
 }
 
+testcase_link_journal_directory() {
+    # Test that journal symlinks point to the persistent path
+    # for --directory.
+    local root machine_id journal_path symlink_target
+
+    root="$(mktemp -d /var/lib/machines/TEST-13-NSPAWN.journal-persist.XXX)"
+
+    create_dummy_container "$root"
+    machine_id="$(systemd-id128 new)"
+    echo "$machine_id" >"$root/etc/machine-id"
+    journal_path="/var/log/journal/$machine_id"
+
+    mkdir -p "$journal_path"
+
+    # Run container with journal linking
+    systemd-nspawn --register=no \
+                   --directory="$root" \
+                   --link-journal=try-guest \
+                   bash -c "exit 0"
+
+    # Verify the symlink was created and is not broken
+    test -L "$journal_path"
+    test -e "$journal_path"
+
+    # Verify the symlink points to the persistent path (e.g., /var/lib/machines/...)
+    # NOT to a temporary /tmp/nspawn-root-* path
+    symlink_target="$(readlink -f "$journal_path")"
+    [[ "$symlink_target" == "$root"* ]]
+    [[ "$symlink_target" != /tmp/nspawn-root-* ]]
+
+    rm -f "$journal_path"
+    rm -fr "$root"
+}
+
+testcase_link_journal_image() {
+    # Test that journal symlinks point to the persistent path
+    # for --image.
+    local root machine_id journal_path symlink_target image mnt_dir
+    local machine_name="test-journal-image"
+    local persistent_dir="/var/lib/machines/$machine_name"
+
+    root="$(mktemp -d /var/lib/machines/TEST-13-NSPAWN.journal-image-root.XXX)"
+    image="$(mktemp /var/lib/machines/TEST-13-NSPAWN.journal-image.XXX.img)"
+    mnt_dir="$(mktemp -d)"
+
+    mkdir -p "$persistent_dir"
+
+    create_dummy_container "$root"
+    dd if=/dev/zero of="$image" bs=1M count=256 status=none
+    mkfs.ext4 -q "$image"
+    mount -o loop "$image" "$mnt_dir"
+    cp -r "$root"/* "$mnt_dir/"
+    machine_id="$(systemd-id128 new)"
+    echo "$machine_id" >"$mnt_dir/etc/machine-id"
+    umount "$mnt_dir"
+    journal_path="/var/log/journal/$machine_id"
+
+    mkdir -p "$journal_path"
+
+    # Run container with journal linking
+    systemd-nspawn --register=no \
+                   --image="$image" \
+                   --machine="$machine_name" \
+                   --link-journal=try-guest \
+                   bash -c "exit 0"
+
+    # Verify the symlink was created and points to the persistent directory.
+    # Note: We don't check that the target exists, as journald hasn't run in this test
+    # to create the directory structure - that's journald's responsibility, not nspawn's.
+    test -L "$journal_path"
+    symlink_target="$(readlink "$journal_path")"
+    [[ "$symlink_target" == "$persistent_dir"* ]]
+
+    rm -f "$journal_path"
+    rm -f "$image"
+    rm -fr "$root"
+    rm -fr "$mnt_dir"
+    rm -fr "$persistent_dir"
+}
+
+testcase_link_journal_ephemeral() {
+    # Test that journal symlinks are NOT created for --ephemeral.
+    local root machine_id journal_path
+
+    root="$(mktemp -d /var/lib/machines/TEST-13-NSPAWN.journal-ephemeral.XXX)"
+
+    create_dummy_container "$root"
+    machine_id="$(systemd-id128 new)"
+    echo "$machine_id" >"$root/etc/machine-id"
+    journal_path="/var/log/journal/$machine_id"
+
+    # Run ephemeral container with journal linking
+    systemd-nspawn --register=no \
+                   --directory="$root" \
+                   --ephemeral \
+                   --link-journal=try-guest \
+                   bash -c "exit 0"
+
+    # Verify the symlink was NOT created, as per existing logic
+    test ! -e "$journal_path"
+
+    rm -fr "$root"
+}
+
+testcase_link_journal_negative() {
+    # Test that no symlink is created when --link-journal is not used.
+    local root machine_id journal_path
+
+    root="$(mktemp -d /var/lib/machines/TEST-13-NSPAWN.journal-no-link.XXX)"
+
+    create_dummy_container "$root"
+    machine_id="$(systemd-id128 new)"
+    echo "$machine_id" >"$root/etc/machine-id"
+    journal_path="/var/log/journal/$machine_id"
+
+    # Run container WITHOUT journal linking
+    systemd-nspawn --register=no \
+                   --directory="$root" \
+                   bash -c "exit 0"
+
+    # Verify the symlink was NOT created
+    test ! -e "$journal_path"
+
+    rm -fr "$root"
+}
+
 run_testcases