bashmemory-leaksvalgrindbug-reporting

`bash` is leaking memory, where do I report it?

I have a super simple script to confirm this behavior:

leak.sh

#! /bin/bash
echo "Am I leaking?"

Execute under valgrind...

$ valgrind ./leak.sh 
==1365336== Memcheck, a memory error detector
==1365336== Copyright (C) 2002-2017, and GNU GPL'd, by Julian Seward et al.
==1365336== Using Valgrind-3.16.1 and LibVEX; rerun with -h for copyright info
==1365336== Command: ./leak.sh
==1365336== 
Am I leaking?
==1365336== 
==1365336== HEAP SUMMARY:
==1365336==     in use at exit: 50,076 bytes in 766 blocks
==1365336==   total heap usage: 858 allocs, 92 frees, 59,487 bytes allocated
==1365336== 
==1365336== LEAK SUMMARY:
==1365336==    definitely lost: 12 bytes in 1 blocks
==1365336==    indirectly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365336==      possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365336==    still reachable: 50,064 bytes in 765 blocks
==1365336==         suppressed: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365336== Rerun with --leak-check=full to see details of leaked memory
==1365336== 
==1365336== For lists of detected and suppressed errors, rerun with: -s
==1365336== ERROR SUMMARY: 0 errors from 0 contexts (suppressed: 0 from 0)

If you change the script to use the dash, the default shell (sh) for Pop!_OS (and I assume all Debian distros), then it will run without leaking.

no_leak.sh

#! /bin/dash
echo "Am I leaking?"

$ valgrind ./no_leak.sh
==1365800== Memcheck, a memory error detector
==1365800== Copyright (C) 2002-2017, and GNU GPL'd, by Julian Seward et al.
==1365800== Using Valgrind-3.16.1 and LibVEX; rerun with -h for copyright info
==1365800== Command: ./no_leak.sh
==1365800== 
Am I leaking?
==1365800== 
==1365800== HEAP SUMMARY:
==1365800==     in use at exit: 10,666 bytes in 77 blocks
==1365800==   total heap usage: 80 allocs, 3 frees, 14,809 bytes allocated
==1365800== 
==1365800== LEAK SUMMARY:
==1365800==    definitely lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365800==    indirectly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365800==      possibly lost: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365800==    still reachable: 10,666 bytes in 77 blocks
==1365800==         suppressed: 0 bytes in 0 blocks
==1365800== Rerun with --leak-check=full to see details of leaked memory
==1365800== 
==1365800== For lists of detected and suppressed errors, rerun with: -s
==1365800== ERROR SUMMARY: 0 errors from 0 contexts (suppressed: 0 from 0)

Where can I report this observation, or find out if it has already been addressed?

bash Version

$ bash --version
GNU bash, version 5.0.17(1)-release (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu)
Copyright (C) 2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
License GPLv3+: GNU GPL version 3 or later <http://gnu.org/licenses/gpl.html>

This is free software; you are free to change and redistribute it.
There is NO WARRANTY, to the extent permitted by law.
Solution

  • As mentioned by @oguz_ismail in the comments, bug-bash@gnu.org is the appropriate place to report the bug.

    However, a certain format for the email is required/requested, when you need to report a bug.

    All bug reports should include:

    • The version number of Bash.
    • The hardware and operating system.
    • The compiler used to compile Bash.
    • A description of the bug behaviour.
    • A short script or ‘recipe’ which exercises the bug and may be used to reproduce it.

    You can find ALL the details at: https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/html_node/Reporting-Bugs.html

    Finally, there is a helper script built into bash itself. Call bashbug from the command line, and it will populate most of the requirements, leaving you to fill out the description and the steps required to reproduce the bug.

    $ bashbug

GNU nano 5.2                                                               /tmp/bbug.1414628/bbug1                                                                          
From: zak
To: bug-bash@gnu.org
Subject: [50 character or so descriptive subject here (for reference)]

Configuration Information [Automatically generated, do not change]:
Machine: x86_64
OS: linux-gnu
Compiler: gcc
Compilation CFLAGS: -g -O2 -fdebug-prefix-map=/build/bash-SmNvvg/bash-5.0=. -fstack-protector-strong -Wformat -Werror=format-security -Wall -Wno-parentheses -Wno-format-secu>
uname output: Linux pop-os 5.11.0-7614-generic #15~1618626693~20.10~ecb25cd-Ubuntu SMP Thu Apr 22 16:00:45 UTC  x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux
...

    Once you have filled in the template, you will be prompted if you would like to send the email. It's okay if you don't have an email client connected, it will store the completed form at ~/dead.bashbug and you can copy paste it into your email client.