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shutdown (exit) can hang or segfault with daemon threads running #46164

Description

@gpshead
BPO 1856
Nosy @birkenfeld, @terryjreedy, @doko42, @gpshead, @kbkaiser, @amauryfa, @pitrou, @vstinner, @benjaminp, @ned-deily, @Trundle
Files
  • thread_exit.py: run this several times for several different behaviors
  • python-trunk-issue1856-threadexit.diff: Immediately exit non-main threads if the interpreter is exiting
  • thread_noswap.patch
  • python-thread_noswap-2.diff
  • finalizing.patch
  • finalizing2.patch
  • Note: these values reflect the state of the issue at the time it was migrated and might not reflect the current state.

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    GitHub fields:

    assignee = None
    closed_at = <Date 2014-07-11.21:08:57.822>
    created_at = <Date 2008-01-17.02:01:14.628>
    labels = ['interpreter-core', 'type-crash']
    title = 'shutdown (exit) can hang or segfault with daemon threads running'
    updated_at = <Date 2020-03-26.23:05:06.906>
    user = 'https://github.com/gpshead'

    bugs.python.org fields:

    activity = <Date 2020-03-26.23:05:06.906>
    actor = 'vstinner'
    assignee = 'none'
    closed = True
    closed_date = <Date 2014-07-11.21:08:57.822>
    closer = 'ned.deily'
    components = ['Interpreter Core']
    creation = <Date 2008-01-17.02:01:14.628>
    creator = 'gregory.p.smith'
    dependencies = []
    files = ['9188', '9199', '9200', '10208', '21862', '21872']
    hgrepos = []
    issue_num = 1856
    keywords = ['patch']
    message_count = 32.0
    messages = ['60014', '60016', '60018', '60056', '60059', '60063', '60069', '60070', '60071', '60072', '60073', '60074', '60075', '60077', '66363', '66742', '73720', '81485', '112641', '115330', '116928', '135006', '135007', '135051', '135144', '135146', '194599', '220786', '222768', '222796', '231460', '365120']
    nosy_count = 20.0
    nosy_names = ['georg.brandl', 'terry.reedy', 'doko', 'gregory.p.smith', 'kbk', 'guettli', 'amaury.forgeotdarc', 'ggenellina', 'Rhamphoryncus', 'larsimmisch', 'pitrou', 'vstinner', 'forest', 'flub', 'benjamin.peterson', 'jamescooper', 'ned.deily', 'Trundle', 'Netto', 'python-dev']
    pr_nums = []
    priority = 'high'
    resolution = 'fixed'
    stage = 'resolved'
    status = 'closed'
    superseder = None
    type = 'crash'
    url = 'https://bugs.python.org/issue1856'
    versions = ['Python 3.2', 'Python 3.3']

    Activity

    1. gpshead commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @gpshead
      MemberAuthor

      This probably applies to 3.0 as well but i have not tested it there.

      Here are some sample failures:

      =========== A ==============
      Exception in thread Thread-0000000001 (most likely raised during
      interpreter shutdown):Exception in thread Thread-0000000003 (most likely
      raised during interpreter shutdown):

      Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
      [Switching to Thread 0xe4cf1bb0 (LWP 22281)]
      0x080c0824 in PyEval_EvalFrameEx (f=0x820d59c, throwflag=0)
      at Python/ceval.c:2633
      2633 if (tstate->frame->f_exc_type != NULL)
      ============================

      =========== B ==============

      Exception in thread Thread-0000000001 (most likely raised during
      interpreter shutdown):
      Traceback (most recent call last):
        File "/home/gps/oss/python/trunk/Lib/threading.py", line 486, in
      __bootstrap_inner
        File "thread_exit.py", line 24, in run
      <type 'exceptions.AttributeError'>: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'add'

      Program received signal SIGINT, Interrupt.
      [Switching to Thread 0xf7fe08e0 (LWP 21703)]
      0xffffe410 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
      (gdb) bt
      #0 0xffffe410 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
      #1 0x4dac1af0 in sem_wait@GLIBC_2.0 () from
      /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libpthread.so.0
      #2 0xf7fe08c0 in ?? ()
      #3 0x080ec9d5 in PyThread_acquire_lock (lock=0x0, waitflag=1)
      at Python/thread_pthread.h:349
      #4 0x080be6d5 in PyEval_RestoreThread (tstate=0x8168050) at
      Python/ceval.c:314
      #5 0x0806caf5 in file_dealloc (f=0xf7f29d58) at Objects/fileobject.c:396
      #6 0x0810be36 in frame_dealloc (f=0x8201f04) at Objects/frameobject.c:416
      #7 0x080e28d2 in PyThreadState_Clear (tstate=0x8184068)
      at Python/pystate.c:217
      #8 0x080e2994 in PyInterpreterState_Clear (interp=0x8168008)
      at Python/pystate.c:105
      #9 0x080e473b in Py_Finalize () at Python/pythonrun.c:444
      #10 0x080e428e in handle_system_exit () at Python/pythonrun.c:1641
      #11 0x080e447a in PyErr_PrintEx (set_sys_last_vars=1)
      at Python/pythonrun.c:1087
      #12 0x080e510d in PyRun_SimpleFileExFlags (fp=0x817bd98,
      filename=0xffffd73c "thread_exit.py", closeit=1, flags=0xffffd518)
      at Python/pythonrun.c:996
      #13 0x0805753b in Py_Main (argc=1, argv=0xffffd5b4) at Modules/main.c:574
      #14 0x4d95cea2 in __libc_start_main () from /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6
      #15 0x080566c1 in _start () at ../sysdeps/i386/elf/start.S:119
      (gdb) bt
      #0 0x080c0824 in PyEval_EvalFrameEx (f=0x820d59c, throwflag=0)
      at Python/ceval.c:2633
      #1 0x080c451c in PyEval_EvalFrameEx (f=0x820d40c, throwflag=0)
      at Python/ceval.c:3690
      #2 0x080c451c in PyEval_EvalFrameEx (f=0x820d13c, throwflag=0)
      at Python/ceval.c:3690
      #3 0x080c5fd4 in PyEval_EvalCodeEx (co=0xf7f22d58, globals=0xf7f962d4,
      locals=0x0, args=0xf7f46e18, argcount=1, kws=0x0, kwcount=0, defs=0x0,
      defcount=0, closure=0x0) at Python/ceval.c:2876
      #4 0x0810d4d6 in function_call (func=0xf7f41454, arg=0xf7f46e0c, kw=0x0)
      at Objects/funcobject.c:524
      #5 0x0805b0b4 in PyObject_Call (func=0xf7f41454, arg=0x0, kw=0x0)
      at Objects/abstract.c:1872
      #6 0x08061008 in instancemethod_call (func=0xf7f41454, arg=0xf7f46e0c,
      kw=0x0)
      at Objects/classobject.c:2509
      #7 0x0805b0b4 in PyObject_Call (func=0xf7f3fdec, arg=0x0, kw=0x0)
      at Objects/abstract.c:1872
      #8 0x080be8f9 in PyEval_CallObjectWithKeywords (func=0x0, arg=0xf7fa002c,
      kw=0x0) at Python/ceval.c:3473
      #9 0x080efb4d in t_bootstrap (boot_raw=0x820c910)
      at ./Modules/threadmodule.c:422
      #10 0x4dabd341 in start_thread () from /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libpthread.so.0
      #11 0x4da114ee in clone () from /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6
      ============================

      And as with all problems of this sort... sometimes the program exits
      normally without any problems.

      I ran python trunk:60012 under gdb above. But these problems occur on
      older versions such as 2.4.

    2. added
      interpreter-core(Objects, Python, Grammar, and Parser dirs)
      type-crashA hard crash of the interpreter, possibly with a core dump
      on Jan 17, 2008
    3. gvanrossum commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @gvanrossum
      Member

      So can we definitely rule out that this could be caused by the recent
      changes to threading.py (r57216)?

    4. gpshead commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @gpshead
      MemberAuthor

      Yes i believe it is unrelated to any recent change.

      I can reproduce both behaviors on my OS X 10.4 dual core mac using
      Python 2.5.1.

      Python 2.3 on the mac appears to get stuck in a loop when run stand
      alone but gets a memory access fault when run under gdb.

      python 2.4.4 seems to hang most of the time.

      (all behaviors are possible i expect, i just ran it by hand under
      several versions a few times)

      The systems i ran it on when reporting the bug was SMP. As with many
      threading bugs it might be easier to reproduce on SMP systems but i
      haven't checked.

    5. amauryfa commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @amauryfa
      Contributor

      I uploaded a script for a similar issue:
      http://bugs.python.org/issue1596321 (thread_crash.py)
      which sometimes segfaults on Windows XP (trunk version, debug build),
      with the same call stacks as printed by Gregory, on both threads.

      I explain it this way:
      On interpreter shutdown, the main thread clears the other's thread
      TreadState. There you find the instruction: 
            Py_CLEAR(tstate->frame);
      But this can call arbitrary python code on deallocation of locals, and
      release the GIL (file.close() in our case).
      The other thread can then continue to run. If it is given enough
      processor time before the whole process shutdowns, it will reach this
      line in ceval.c (line 2633)
      	if (tstate->frame->f_exc_type != NULL)
      since tstate->frame has been cleared by the main thread ==> boom.

      There can be several ways to solve this problem:

      • While clearing a thread state, prevent the "owner" thread to gain
        focus. Only the main thread can "Py_END_ALLOW_THREADS". The daemon
        thread is blocked forever, and will die there.
      • Be smarter when clearing tstate->frame: first call frame_clear(),
        which will free local variables, but let the frame in a valid state.
        Only after that, call Py_CLEAR(tstate->frame), when we are sure that no
        more thread switch can occur. Of course there are many other fields in a
        frame; we have to inspect them carefully. The first solution seems a
        more robust approach.
    6. Rhamphoryncus commented on Jan 17, 2008

      Rhamphoryncusmannequin
      Mannequin

      I think non-main threads should kill themselves off if they grab the
      interpreter lock and the interpreter is tearing down. They're about to
      get killed off anyway, when the process exits.

      PyGILState_Ensure would still be broken. It touches various things that
      get torn down (autoInterpreterState, autoTLSkey, and the HEAD_LOCK
      macros) before it grabs the GIL. Reordering should be possible of course.

    7. gpshead commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @gpshead
      MemberAuthor

      agreed, during shutdown the other threads should be stopped. anything
      to do this complicates acquiring and releasing the GIL by adding another
      check to see if we're shutting down.

      brainstorm: I haven't looked at the existing BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS and
      END_ALLOW_THREADS implementations but would it be possible to modify
      them on the fly from the thread doing the shutdown (main or not) while
      it holds the GIL such that all future calls to BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS do
      not actually release the GIL and END_ALLOW_THREADS always blocks. That
      should bring other threads to a halt pretty quickly and prevent
      destructors from releasing the GIL (file.close, etc).

    8. Rhamphoryncus commented on Jan 17, 2008

      Rhamphoryncusmannequin
      Mannequin

      I'm not sure I understand you, Gregory. Are arguing in favour of adding
      extra logic to the GIL code, or against it?

      I'm attaching a patch that has non-main thread exit, and it seems to fix
      the test case. It doesn't fix the PyGILState_Ensure problems though.

      Also note that PyThread_exit_thread() was completely broken, becoming a
      no-op once threading was initialized, and even before then it would exit
      the process rather than just the thread. I've fixed it for pthreads,
      but not for any of the other platforms.

    9. amauryfa commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @amauryfa
      Contributor

      PyGILState_Ensure would still be broken.
      It touches various things that get torn down (autoInterpreterState,
      autoTLSkey, and the HEAD_LOCK macros) before it grabs the GIL.
      Reordering should be possible of course.

      Adam, did you notice the change on revision 59231 ? the
      PyGILState_Ensure stuff should now remain valid during the
      PyInterpreterState_Clear() call.

    10. amauryfa commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @amauryfa
      Contributor

      Adam, your patch cover one case of the thread releasing the GIL
      (Py_ALLOW_THREADS), but there are more calls to PyThread_acquire_lock
      (the checkinterval for example).

      I have a competing patch: it makes the main thread never release the GIL
      after some point. Other threads stay blocked and don't clean themselves:
      the OS will take care of them.

      Both approaches correct the initial problem, though.
      A remaining question is where exactly in Py_Finalize() we should ban
      other threads. I think that this point should be as late as possible, to
      allow some object/resources to be cleaned properly.

    11. Rhamphoryncus commented on Jan 17, 2008

      Rhamphoryncusmannequin
      Mannequin

      Adam, did you notice the change on revision 59231 ? the
      PyGILState_Ensure stuff should now remain valid during the
      PyInterpreterState_Clear() call.

      That doesn't matter. PyGILState_Ensure needs to remain valid *forever*.
      Only once the process is completely gone can we be sure it won't be called.

      Note that PyGILState_Ensure has two behaviours: it can be called when
      your thread is already running python code and has a tstate, or it can
      be called when you have none. revision 59231 fixed the former, but only
      when Py_Finalize hasn't finished. It doesn't fix it for any daemon
      threads, or for dummy threads (created outside of python's control).

      ...

      You're right, I did forget the 3 other places that acquire the
      interpreter_lock. The more I think about it the more I think our two
      approaches are equivalent, but conditionalizing the release means we
      don't need to touch the broken PyThread_exit_thread functions.

      I think the banning should be as early as possible, right after
      call_sys_exitfunc() has finished. You can't do anything sane once the
      interpreter is half-gone (despite the precedent of trying anyway.)

    12. amauryfa commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @amauryfa
      Contributor

      That doesn't matter. PyGILState_Ensure needs to remain valid
      *forever*. Only once the process is completely gone can we be sure
      it won't be called.

      We could apply the same idea: when exiting, PyGILState_Ensure() blocks
      forever, except for the main thread of course.

      Note that all this state must be restartable: after Py_Finalize(), it
      should be possible to call Py_Initialize() again. This seems to raise
      the score of the "exit_thread" approach.
      I don't know if multiple interpreters are well supported, though.
      Is there somewhere a list of use cases, or a test script that can
      exercise this?

    13. Rhamphoryncus commented on Jan 17, 2008

      Rhamphoryncusmannequin
      Mannequin

      PyGILState_Ensure WOULD block forever if it acquired the GIL before
      doing anything else.

      The only way to make Py_Initialize callable after Py_Finalize is to make
      various bits of the finalization into no-ops. For instance, it's
      currently impossible to unload C extension modules, so they must be left
      around permanently. I'm not convinced it works currently, or that
      there's use cases for it.

      Note that unloading python.so between Py_Finalize and Py_Initialize
      would definitely break things, as you'd lose all the global variables
      maintaining things. That eliminates the only "it's more elegant" argument.

    14. amauryfa commented on Jan 17, 2008

      @amauryfa
      Contributor

      PyGILState_Ensure WOULD block forever if it acquired the GIL
      before doing anything else.
      Is it possible at all? PyThread_acquire_lock is not reentrant.

    15. 8 remaining items

    16. pitrou commented on May 2, 2011

      @pitrou
      Member

      With Python 3.3, thread_exit.py still crashes more or less randomly:

      $ ./python thread_exit.py 
      [49205 refs]
      python: Python/_warnings.c:501: setup_context: Assertion `((((((PyObject*)(*filename))->ob_type))->tp_flags & ((1L<<28))) != 0)' failed.
      Abandon
    17. pitrou commented on May 2, 2011

      @pitrou
      Member

      A patch that seems to work under Linux and Windows (for 3.2/3.3).

    18. pitrou commented on May 3, 2011

      @pitrou
      Member

      Victor pointed out that Py_Finalize() is not necessarily called in the main Python thread. This new patch records the thread state of the finalizing thread, and also includes a test case.

    19. python-dev commented on May 4, 2011

      python-devmannequin
      Mannequin

      New changeset 2a19d09b08f8 by Antoine Pitrou in branch '3.2':
      Issue bpo-1856: Avoid crashes and lockups when daemon threads run while the
      http://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/2a19d09b08f8

      New changeset c892b0321d23 by Antoine Pitrou in branch 'default':
      Issue bpo-1856: Avoid crashes and lockups when daemon threads run while the
      http://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/c892b0321d23

    20. pitrou commented on May 4, 2011

      @pitrou
      Member

      Should be fixed in 3.2 and 3.3 now. I don't really want to bother with 2.7 and 3.1 (the GIL implementation is different), but someone can backport the patch if they want to :)

    21. guettli commented on Aug 7, 2013

      guettlimannequin
      Mannequin
    22. python-dev commented on Jun 17, 2014

      python-devmannequin
      Mannequin

      New changeset 7741d0dd66ca by Benjamin Peterson in branch '2.7':
      avoid crashes and lockups from daemon threads during interpreter shutdown (bpo-1856)
      http://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/7741d0dd66ca

    23. doko42 commented on Jul 11, 2014

      @doko42
      Member

      http://tracker.ceph.com/issues/8797 reports that the backport to 2.7 causes a regression in ceph.

    24. reopened this on Jul 11, 2014
    25. ned-deily commented on Jul 11, 2014

      @ned-deily
      Member

      I've opened bpo-21963 to track the 2.7.8 regression. Please continue any discussion there.

    26. python-dev commented on Nov 21, 2014

      python-devmannequin
      Mannequin

      New changeset 4ceca79d1c63 by Antoine Pitrou in branch '2.7':
      Issue bpo-21963: backout issue bpo-1856 patch (avoid crashes and lockups when
      https://hg.python.org/cpython/rev/4ceca79d1c63

    27. vstinner commented on Mar 26, 2020

      @vstinner
      Member

      bpo-1193099 was marked as a duplicate of this issue.

    28. transferred this issue fromon Apr 10, 2022
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