This is not an ubuntu bug, it turned out to be a mis-configured NIS setup - specifically, having "nisplus" in nsswitch.conf. Removing this keyword on the hosts line fixed things.
-- svn cannot resolve server (perhaps NIS issue?) https://launchpad.net/bugs/68651 -- ubuntu-bugs mailing list ubuntu-bugs@lists.ubuntu.com https://lists.ubuntu.com/mailman/listinfo/ubuntu-bugs
