bug#25877: 26.0.50;M-x list-packages Invalid version list error

[Carlo Tambuatco <oraclmaster@gmail.com>]

On running M-x list-packages, emacs simply gives the

Invalid version list '(8 6 -4)' error and stops execution.

This does not cause emacs to crash, but the command does not
execute.




In GNU Emacs 26.0.50 (build 1, x86_64-apple-darwin16.4.0, NS appkit-1504.81 Version 10.12.3 (Build 16D32))
of 2017-02-18 built on sierra.internal.macports.net
Repository revision: a83b66923cfb71bb477d7a1f426f7426f91917da
Windowing system distributor 'Apple', version 10.3.1504
Recent messages:
Loading /opt/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/subdirs.el (source)...done
.emacs.d/site-lisp/package.el: ‘condition-case-no-debug’ is an obsolete alias (as of 24.1); use ‘condition-case-unless-debug’ instead. [2 times]
Finding all versions of R on your system...
Sorry, no version of R could be found on your system.
For information about GNU Emacs and the GNU system, type C-h C-a.

Configured using:
'configure --prefix=/opt/local --without-ns --without-dbus
--without-gconf --without-libotf --without-m17n-flt --without-gpm
--without-gnutls --with-xml2 --with-modules --infodir
/opt/local/share/info/emacs --with-ns CC=/usr/bin/clang 'CFLAGS=-pipe
-Os -arch x86_64' 'LDFLAGS=-L/opt/local/lib
-Wl,-headerpad_max_install_names -Wl,-no_pie -arch x86_64'
CPPFLAGS=-I/opt/local/include'

Configured features:
NOTIFY ACL LIBXML2 ZLIB TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS NS MODULES

Important settings:
  value of $LANG: en_US.UTF-8
  locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix

Major mode: Fundamental

Minor modes in effect:
  shell-dirtrack-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  global-eldoc-mode: t
  electric-indent-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  buffer-read-only: t
  line-number-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t

Load-path shadows:
/opt/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/ess/ess-site hides /opt/local/share/emacs/site-lisp/ess-site
~/.emacs.d/site-lisp/package hides /Applications/MacPorts/Emacs.app/Contents/Resources/lisp/emacs-lisp/package

Features:
(shadow sort mail-extr emacsbug message puny dired dired-loaddefs rfc822
mml mml-sec password-cache epa epg epg-config gnus-util rmail
rmail-loaddefs mm-decode mm-bodies mm-encode mail-parse rfc2231
mailabbrev gmm-utils mailheader sendmail rfc2047 rfc2045 ietf-drums
mm-util mail-prsvr mail-utils edmacro kmacro ido seq byte-opt subr-x
bytecomp byte-compile cl-extra help-mode cconv ess-toolbar ess-mouse
mouseme thingatpt browse-url ess-menu ess-swv ess-noweb
ess-noweb-font-lock-mode ess-bugs-l essd-els ess-sas-d ess-sas-l
ess-sas-a shell pcomplete ess-sta-d ess-sta-l cc-vars cc-defs
make-regexp ess-sp6-d ess-sp3-d ess-julia ess-r-d compile ess-tracebug
format-spec ess-roxy advice hideshow ess-help ess-developer ess-r-args
ess-s-l ess ess-inf comint ansi-color ring ess-mode ess-noweb-mode
ess-utils ess-custom executable ess-compat ess-site slime-autoloads
clojure-mode cl-macs easymenu cl gv cl-loaddefs pcase cl-lib
paredit-autoloads swank-cdt-autoloads package derived time-date tooltip
eldoc electric uniquify ediff-hook vc-hooks lisp-float-type mwheel
term/ns-win ns-win ucs-normalize mule-util term/common-win tool-bar dnd
fontset image regexp-opt fringe tabulated-list replace newcomment
text-mode elisp-mode lisp-mode prog-mode register page menu-bar
rfn-eshadow isearch timer select scroll-bar mouse jit-lock font-lock
syntax facemenu font-core term/tty-colors frame cl-generic cham georgian
utf-8-lang misc-lang vietnamese tibetan thai tai-viet lao korean
japanese eucjp-ms cp51932 hebrew greek romanian slovak czech european
ethiopic indian cyrillic chinese composite charscript case-table
epa-hook jka-cmpr-hook help simple abbrev obarray minibuffer
cl-preloaded nadvice loaddefs button faces cus-face macroexp files
text-properties overlay sha1 md5 base64 format env code-pages mule
custom widget hashtable-print-readable backquote kqueue cocoa ns
multi-tty make-network-process emacs)

Memory information:
((conses 16 311094 16815)
(symbols 48 29143 1)
(miscs 40 104 210)
(strings 32 48615 22034)
(string-bytes 1 1410695)
(vectors 16 43837)
(vector-slots 8 771504 11281)
(floats 8 315 34)
(intervals 56 282 0)
(buffers 976 13))