Bug 25292 - async-signal-safe functions list in Linux
Summary: async-signal-safe functions list in Linux
Status: RESOLVED CODE_FIX
Alias: None
Product: Documentation
Classification: Unclassified
Component: man-pages (show other bugs)
Hardware: All Linux
: P1 normal
Assignee: documentation_man-pages@kernel-bugs.osdl.org
URL:
Keywords:
Depends on:
Blocks:
 
Reported: 2010-12-20 05:38 UTC by KOSAKI Motohiro
Modified: 2016-12-12 12:01 UTC (History)
3 users (show)

See Also:
Kernel Version:
Subsystem:
Regression: No
Bisected commit-id:


Attachments

Description KOSAKI Motohiro 2010-12-20 05:38:14 UTC
Signal(7) described which functions are async-signal-safe. But it is only written POSIX definition, is not described linux implementation specific limit. And it should be.

I have three example.

1. fork

glibc malloc are calling pthread_atfork() internally, therefore our fork is async signal unsafe since long time ago.

http://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=4737


The standard comitte has decided to remove fork() from async-signal-safe functions in future standard. (see following defect reports)

http://www.opengroup.org/austin/aardvark/latest/xshbug3.txt

> 
>  _____________________________________________________________________________
>  COMMENT                                         Enhancement Request Number
>  15
>  rajani.g.k:xxxxxx                              Defect in XSH 2.4.3 (rdvk# 
>  6)
>  {GKRFORK012009}                                  Thu, 8 Jan 2009 07:41:10
>  GMT
> 
>  _____________________________________________________________________________
>  Accept_____    Accept as marked below_X___     Duplicate_____    
>  Reject_____
>  Rationale for rejected or partial changes:
> 
> We agreed not to send this down the interps track yet.
> 
> The standard is clear and concerns are being forwarded to the sponsor.
> A previous interpretation 1003.1c-1995 #37, and also ERN XSHbug2145 have
> addressed the same issue, but still the problem has remained unresolved.
> 
> Because of the problems which exist here it has become
> clear that an application using pthread_atfork(), even if the application
> itself
> did not call pthread_atfork(), may have had pthread_atfork() handlers
> installed by a third party library or the implementation. Therefore
> calling fork() from an asynchronous signal handler is undefined.
> Therefore we are removing fork() from the list of
> async-signal-safe functions.
> 
> 
> Recommendations for a future revision:
> A future revision should mandate posix_spawn() and add that to the list
> of async-signal-safe functions.
> Remove fork() from the list of async-signal-safe functions.
> [ 12 Feb 2009 - we had no consensus on the changes for a future revision]

2. aio_suspend

It is using pthread_mutex_lock() internally.

glibc/sysdeps/pthread/aio_suspend.c
------------------------------------------
int
aio_suspend (list, nent, timeout)
     const struct aiocb *const list[];
     int nent;
     const struct timespec *timeout;
{
(snip)

  /* Request the mutex.  */
  pthread_mutex_lock (&__aio_requests_mutex);


3. execle

It is using realloc internally.

glibc/posix/execle.c
----------------------------------------------------------
int
execle (const char *path, const char *arg, ...)
{
#define INITIAL_ARGV_MAX 1024
  size_t argv_max = INITIAL_ARGV_MAX;
  const char *initial_argv[INITIAL_ARGV_MAX];
  const char **argv = initial_argv;
  va_list args;
  argv[0] = arg;

  va_start (args, arg);
  unsigned int i = 0;
  while (argv[i++] != NULL)
    {
      if (i == argv_max)
        {
          argv_max *= 2;
          const char **nptr = realloc (argv == initial_argv ? NULL : argv,
                                       argv_max * sizeof (const char *));
          if (nptr == NULL)
            {


Can you please consider to update signal(7) man page?
Comment 2 KOSAKI Motohiro 2014-06-25 18:50:12 UTC
?

My example don't depend on kernel version. All of them describes glibc implementations.
Comment 3 Michael Kerrisk 2016-11-09 12:58:22 UTC
Hello Motohiro,

I am working on this report. Expect changes in the man-pages in the next release or two to address this bug.

Cheers,

Michael
Comment 4 KOSAKI Motohiro 2016-11-09 15:34:31 UTC
Great! :)
Comment 5 Michael Kerrisk 2016-12-12 11:58:20 UTC
I've added a new page, signal-safety(7) that takes some details from the existing signal(7), but updated for latest POSIX and includes info on the glibc exceptions you've noted.

See below.

Cheers,

Michael

NAME
       signal-safety - async-signal-safe functions

DESCRIPTION
       An  async-signal-safe  function  is  one that can be safely called
       from within a signal handler.  Many functions are  not  async-sig‐
       nal-safe.   In  particular,  nonreentrant  functions are generally
       unsafe to call from a signal handler.

       The kinds of issues that render a function unsafe can  be  quickly
       understood  when  one  considers  the  implementation of the stdio
       library, all of whose functions are not async-signal-safe.

       When performing buffered I/O on a file, the stdio  functions  must
       maintain  a statically allocated data buffer along with associated
       counters and indexes (or pointers) that record the amount of  data
       and  the  current  position  in the buffer.  Suppose that the main
       program is in the middle of a call to a  stdio  function  such  as
       printf(3) where the buffer and associated variables have been par‐
       tially updated.  If, at that moment, the program is interrupted by
       a  signal  handler that also calls printf(3), then the second call
       to printf(3) will operate on inconsistent data, with unpredictable
       results.

       To  avoid  problems  with unsafe functions, there are two possible
       choices:

       1. Ensure that (a) the signal handler calls only async-signal-safe
          functions,  and (b) the signal handler itself is reentrant with
          respect to global variables in the main program.

       2. Block signal delivery in the main program  when  calling  func‐
          tions  that are unsafe or operating on global data that is also
          accessed by the signal handler.

       Generally, the second choice is difficult in programs of any  com‐
       plexity, so the first choice is taken.

       POSIX.1  specifies  a set of functions that an implementation must
       make  async-signal-safe.   (An  implementation  may  provide  safe
       implementations  of additional functions, but this is not required
       by the standard and other implementations may not provide the same
       guarantees.)   In  general, a function is async-signal-safe either
       because it is reentrant or because it is atomic  with  respect  to
       signals (i.e., its execution can't be interrupted by a signal han‐
       dler).

       The set of functions required to be async-signal-safe  by  POSIX.1
       is  shown  in  the  following  table.  The functions not otherwise
       noted were required to be async-signal-safe in  POSIX.1-2001;  the
       table details changes in the subsequent standards.


       Function               Notes
       abort(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2003
       accept(2)
       access(2)
       aio_error(3)
       aio_return(3)
       aio_suspend(3)         See notes below
       alarm(2)

       bind(2)
       cfgetispeed(3)
       cfgetospeed(3)
       cfsetispeed(3)
       cfsetospeed(3)
       chdir(2)
       chmod(2)
       chown(2)
       clock_gettime(2)
       close(2)
       connect(2)
       creat(2)
       dup(2)
       dup2(2)
       execl(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2008; see notes below
       execle(3)              See notes below
       execv(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2008
       execve(2)
       _exit(2)
       _Exit(2)
       faccessat(2)           Added in POSIX.1-2008
       fchdir(2)              Added in POSIX.1-2013
       fchmod(2)
       fchmodat(2)            Added in POSIX.1-2008
       fchown(2)
       fchownat(2)            Added in POSIX.1-2008
       fcntl(2)
       fdatasync(2)
       fexecve(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2008
       ffs(3)                 Added in POSIX.1-2016
       fork(2)                See notes below
       fstat(2)
       fstatat(2)             Added in POSIX.1-2008
       fsync(2)
       ftruncate(2)
       futimens(3)            Added in POSIX.1-2008
       getegid(2)
       geteuid(2)
       getgid(2)
       getgroups(2)
       getpeername(2)
       getpgrp(2)
       getpid(2)
       getppid(2)
       getsockname(2)
       getsockopt(2)
       getuid(2)
       htonl(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2016
       htons(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2016
       kill(2)
       link(2)
       linkat(2)              Added in POSIX.1-2008
       listen(2)
       longjmp(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016; see notes below
       lseek(2)
       lstat(2)
       memccpy(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       memchr(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       memcmp(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       memcpy(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       memmove(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       memset(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       mkdir(2)
       mkdirat(2)             Added in POSIX.1-2008
       mkfifo(3)

       mkfifoat(3)            Added in POSIX.1-2008
       mknod(2)               Added in POSIX.1-2008
       mknodat(2)             Added in POSIX.1-2008
       ntohl(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2016
       ntohs(3)               Added in POSIX.1-2016
       open(2)
       openat(2)              Added in POSIX.1-2008
       pause(2)
       pipe(2)
       poll(2)
       posix_trace_event(3)
       pselect(2)
       pthread_kill(3)        Added in POSIX.1-2013
       pthread_self(3)        Added in POSIX.1-2013
       pthread_sigmask(3)     Added in POSIX.1-2013
       raise(3)
       read(2)
       readlink(2)
       readlinkat(2)          Added in POSIX.1-2008
       recv(2)
       recvfrom(2)
       recvmsg(2)
       rename(2)
       renameat(2)            Added in POSIX.1-2008
       rmdir(2)
       select(2)
       sem_post(3)
       send(2)
       sendmsg(2)
       sendto(2)
       setgid(2)
       setpgid(2)
       setsid(2)
       setsockopt(2)
       setuid(2)
       shutdown(2)
       sigaction(2)
       sigaddset(3)
       sigdelset(3)
       sigemptyset(3)
       sigfillset(3)
       sigismember(3)
       siglongjmp(3)          Added in POSIX.1-2016; see notes below
       signal(2)
       sigpause(3)
       sigpending(2)
       sigprocmask(2)
       sigqueue(2)
       sigset(3)
       sigsuspend(2)
       sleep(3)
       sockatmark(3)          Added in POSIX.1-2004
       socket(2)
       socketpair(2)
       stat(2)
       stpcpy(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       stpncpy(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strcat(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strchr(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strcmp(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strcpy(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strcspn(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strlen(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strncat(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strncmp(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016

       strncpy(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strnlen(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strpbrk(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strrchr(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strspn(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strstr(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       strtok_r(3)            Added in POSIX.1-2016
       symlink(2)
       symlinkat(2)           Added in POSIX.1-2008
       tcdrain(3)
       tcflow(3)
       tcflush(3)
       tcgetattr(3)
       tcgetpgrp(3)
       tcsendbreak(3)
       tcsetattr(3)
       tcsetpgrp(3)
       time(2)
       timer_getoverrun(2)
       timer_gettime(2)
       timer_settime(2)
       times(2)
       umask(2)
       uname(2)
       unlink(2)
       unlinkat(2)            Added in POSIX.1-2008
       utime(2)
       utimensat(2)           Added in POSIX.1-2008
       utimes(2)              Added in POSIX.1-2008
       wait(2)
       waitpid(2)
       wcpcpy(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcpncpy(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcscat(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcschr(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcscmp(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcscpy(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcscspn(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcslen(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsncat(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsncmp(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsncpy(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsnlen(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcspbrk(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsrchr(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsspn(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcsstr(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wcstok(3)              Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wmemchr(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wmemcmp(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wmemcpy(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wmemmove(3)            Added in POSIX.1-2016
       wmemset(3)             Added in POSIX.1-2016
       write(2)

       Notes:

       *  POSIX.1-2001  and  POSIX.1-2004  required  the functions fpath‐
          conf(3), pathconf(3), and sysconf(3) to  be  async-signal-safe,
          but this requirement was removed in POSIX.1-2008.

       *  If a signal handler interrupts the execution of an unsafe func‐
          tion, and the handler terminates via a call  to  longjmp(3)  or
          siglongjmp(3)  and  the  program  subsequently  calls an unsafe
          function, then the behavior of the program is undefined.

       *  POSIX.1-2003 clarified that if  an  application  calls  fork(2)
          from  a  signal handler and any of the fork handlers registered
          by pthread_atfork(3) calls a function that is not async-signal-
          safe,  the  behavior  is  undefined.   A future revision of the
          standard is likely to remove fork(2) from the  list  of  async-
          signal-safe functions.

   Deviations in the GNU C library
       The  following known deviations from the standard occur in the GNU
       C library:

       *  Before glibc 2.24, execl(3) and execle(3)  employed  realloc(3)
          internally  and  were consequently not async-signal-safe.  This
          was fixed in glibc 2.24.

       *  The glibc implementation of aio_suspend(3) is not async-signal-
          safe because it uses pthread_mutex_lock(3) internally.

SEE ALSO
       sigaction(2), signal(7), standards(7)
Comment 6 Michael Kerrisk 2016-12-12 12:01:51 UTC
I've also made the changes below. So, closing this bug now. Please reopen if you think something is still lacking.

Cheers,

Michael

--- a/man3/exec.3
+++ b/man3/exec.3
@@ -261,6 +261,17 @@ and
 upon which they returned.
 They now return if any error other than the ones
 described above occurs.
+.SH BUGS
+Before glibc 2.24,
+.BR execl (3)
+and
+.BR execle (3)
+employed
+.BR realloc (3)
+internally and were consequently not async-signal-safe,
+in violation of the requirements of POSIX.1.
+.\" https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=19534
+This was fixed in glibc 2.24.
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .BR sh (1),
 .BR execve (2),



diff --git a/man3/aio_suspend.3 b/man3/aio_suspend.3
index 3c8f713..7885388 100644
--- a/man3/aio_suspend.3
+++ b/man3/aio_suspend.3
@@ -138,6 +138,12 @@ to scan the list of
 .I aiocb
 structures pointed to by
 .IR aiocb_list .
+.SH BUGS
+The glibc implementation of
+.BR aio_suspend ()
+is not async-signal-safe,
+.\" FIXME . https://sourceware.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=13172
+in violation of the requirements of POSSIX.1.
 .SH SEE ALSO
 .BR aio_cancel (3),
 .BR aio_error (3),

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