NetworkManager VPN not usable: workarounds?

[Paul Smith]

Hi all.

I've posted a critical bug in Ubuntu 12.04 in Launchpad more than a
month ago:

https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/network-manager-openvpn/+bug/990765

Because of this bug I cannot use my Ubuntu system to connect to work
anymore: I've had to create a virtual machine and load an older Ubuntu
release in it and use that while I wait for a fix or workaround.

This is simply not sustainable: my work-from-home productivity has
dropped through the floor using this method.  Something has to give.

At the same time there doesn't seem to be anyone interested in working
on this bug so far.

Back in the day all of this would have been controlled through simple
scripts and text file configurations and I could just go in and hack it
myself if the UI was misbehaving.  It's immensely frustrating to me that
something so stupid and trivial should cause so much pain.  Does anyone
have any thoughts about how to work around this issue, or where I should
go to get more traction for solving it?