Firefox crashes randomly: *** glibc detected *** /usr/lib/firefox-3.0.4/firefox: double free or corruption (fasttop)

[Alvaro Leal (Effenberg0x0)]

Binary package hint: firefox

After using Intrepid Ibex for some weeks, I have noticed that Firefox 3.0.4 is crashing randomly and very frequently, more than two times per hour of use. I can't actually relate this to specific pages or content (flash, etc). This definitely wasn't happening at all with Hardy. Removing Firefox through Synapctics, manually removing all Firefox files and directories and reinstalling it from Synapctics again doesn't seem to help. All other applications are working fine.

Also, there are no messages in the system log that I could detect at each crash. I could get some information about the crash launching Firefox from the console and waiting for it to crash. The information is pasted below. Please tell me how I can help with further information to debug this.

aleal@aleal-mobile:~$ firefox
*** glibc detected *** /usr/lib/firefox-3.0.4/firefox: double free or corruption (fasttop): 0xae025208 ***
======= Backtrace: =========
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6[0xb7d963f4]
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6(cfree+0x96)[0xb7d98456]
/usr/lib/libtalloc.so.1(talloc_free+0x153)[0xb2007503]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2[0xb1a43289]
/usr/lib/libtalloc.so.1(talloc_free+0x271)[0xb2007621]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(alloc_sub_basic+0xa87)[0xb1a6e7a8]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(talloc_sub_basic+0x33)[0xb1a6ed8f]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2[0xb19ae281]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(lp_lockdir+0x27)[0xb19af3f2]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(lock_path+0x17)[0xb1a68ac5]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(receive_unexpected+0x21)[0xb1a07767]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(receive_nmb_packet+0x65)[0xb1a0a375]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(name_query+0x32e)[0xb1a0ce4d]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(_nss_wins_gethostbyname_r+0x38a)[0xb19aa555]
/lib/libnss_wins.so.2(_nss_wins_gethostbyname2_r+0x4f)[0xb19aa853]
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6(gethostbyname2_r+0x1b2)[0xb7e227e2]
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6[0xb7dec085]
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6(getaddrinfo+0x1c9)[0xb7dee039]
/usr/lib/libnspr4.so.0d(PR_GetAddrInfoByName+0x129)[0xb7c676b9]
/usr/lib/xulrunner-1.9.0.4/libxul.so[0xb7248818]
/usr/lib/libnspr4.so.0d[0xb7c751e1]
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libpthread.so.0[0xb7fb450f]
/lib/tls/i686/cmov/libc.so.6(clone+0x5e)[0xb7e087ee]
======= Memory map: ========
08048000-0804f000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 172102 /usr/lib/firefox-3.0.4/firefox
0804f000-08050000 r--p 00006000 08:05 172102 /usr/lib/firefox-3.0.4/firefox
08050000-08051000 rw-p 00007000 08:05 172102 /usr/lib/firefox-3.0.4/firefox
0916b000-0d445000 rw-p 0916b000 00:00 0 [heap]
abe80000-abe81000 ---p abe80000 00:00 0
abe81000-ac681000 rwxp abe81000 00:00 0
ac681000-ac682000 ---p ac681000 00:00 0
ac682000-ace82000 rwxp ac682000 00:00 0
ace82000-aced0000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 131481 /usr/lib/libpulse.so.0.4.1
aced0000-aced1000 r--p 0004d000 08:05 131481 /usr/lib/libpulse.so.0.4.1
aced1000-aced2000 rw-p 0004e000 08:05 131481 /usr/lib/libpulse.so.0.4.1
ae000000-ae047000 rw-p ae000000 00:00 0
ae047000-ae100000 ---p ae047000 00:00 0
ae144000-ae276000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 165487 /usr/lib/i686/cmov/libcrypto.so.0.9.8
ae276000-ae27e000 r--p 00132000 08:05 165487 /usr/lib/i686/cmov/libcrypto.so.0.9.8
ae27e000-ae28b000 rw-p 0013a000 08:05 165487 /usr/lib/i686/cmov/libcrypto.so.0.9.8
ae28b000-ae35e000 rw-p ae28b000 00:00 0
ae35e000-ae46e000 ---p ae35e000 00:00 0
ae46e000-ae653000 rw-p ae46e000 00:00 0
ae653000-ae662000 ---p ae653000 00:00 0
ae662000-af28f000 rw-p ae662000 00:00 0
af28f000-afbe0000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 499990 /usr/lib/flashplugin-nonfree/libflashplayer.so
afbe0000-afc13000 rw-p 00950000 08:05 499990 /usr/lib/flashplugin-nonfree/libflashplayer.so
afc13000-afcfe000 rw-p afc13000 00:00 0
afcfe000-afcff000 ---p afcfe000 00:00 0
afcff000-b04ff000 rwxp afcff000 00:00 0
b04ff000-b0500000 ---p b04ff000 00:00 0
b0500000-b0d00000 rwxp b0500000 00:00 0
b0d00000-b0df9000 rw-p b0d00000 00:00 0
b0df9000-b0e00000 ---p b0df9000 00:00 0
b0e00000-b0eaa000 rw-p b0e00000 00:00 0
b0eaa000-b0f00000 ---p b0eaa000 00:00 0
b0f00000-b0ffa000 rw-p b0f00000 00:00 0
b0ffa000-b1000000 ---p b0ffa000 00:00 0
b1000000-b1100000 rw-p b1000000 00:00 0
b1100000-b11ff000 rw-p b1100000 00:00 0
b11ff000-b1200000 ---p b11ff000 00:00 0
b1200000-b1300000 rw-p b1200000 00:00 0
b1300000-b1400000 rw-p b1300000 00:00 0
b1500000-b1600000 rw-p b1500000 00:00 0
b16aa000-b16f0000 r--p 00000000 08:05 7389283 /usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/Arial_Bold.ttf
b16f0000-b1732000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 165488 /usr/lib/i686/cmov/libssl.so.0.9.8
b1732000-b1733000 r--p 00041000 08:05 165488 /usr/lib/i686/cmov/libssl.so.0.9.8
b1733000-b1736000 rw-p 00042000 08:05 165488 /usr/lib/i686/cmov/libssl.so.0.9.8
b1736000-b1766000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134244 /usr/lib/libidn.so.11.5.37
b1766000-b1767000 r--p 00030000 08:05 134244 /usr/lib/libidn.so.11.5.37
b1767000-b1768000 rw-p 00031000 08:05 134244 /usr/lib/libidn.so.11.5.37
b1768000-b178b000 r--p 00000000 08:05 7389301 /usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts/Verdana.ttf
b178b000-b178f000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 2245987 /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libnss_dns-2.8.90.so
b178f000-b1790000 r--p 00003000 08:05 2245987 /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libnss_dns-2.8.90.so
b1790000-b1791000 rw-p 00004000 08:05 2245987 /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libnss_dns-2.8.90.so
b17a0000-b17b0000 r--s 00000000 08:05 238656 /usr/share/samba/valid.dat
b17b0000-b17d0000 r--s 00000000 08:05 238648 /usr/share/samba/lowcase.dat
b17d0000-b17f0000 r--s 00000000 08:05 238655 /usr/share/samba/upcase.dat
b17f0000-b17f2000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 2228296 /lib/libkeyutils-1.2.so
b17f2000-b17f4000 rw-p 00001000 08:05 2228296 /lib/libkeyutils-1.2.so
b17f4000-b17fb000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134270 /usr/lib/libkrb5support.so.0.1
b17fb000-b17fc000 r--p 00006000 08:05 134270 /usr/lib/libkrb5support.so.0.1
b17fc000-b17fd000 rw-p 00007000 08:05 134270 /usr/lib/libkrb5support.so.0.1
b17fd000-b1813000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 133971 /usr/lib/libsasl2.so.2.0.22
b1813000-b1814000 r--p 00015000 08:05 133971 /usr/lib/libsasl2.so.2.0.22
b1814000-b1815000 rw-p 00016000 08:05 133971 /usr/lib/libsasl2.so.2.0.22
b1815000-b181e000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 2245976 /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libcrypt-2.8.90.so
b181e000-b181f000 r--p 00008000 08:05 2245976 /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libcrypt-2.8.90.so
b181f000-b1820000 rw-p 00009000 08:05 2245976 /lib/tls/i686/cmov/libcrypt-2.8.90.so
b1820000-b1847000 rw-p b1820000 00:00 0
b1847000-b1869000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134262 /usr/lib/libk5crypto.so.3.1
b1869000-b186a000 r--p 00022000 08:05 134262 /usr/lib/libk5crypto.so.3.1
b186a000-b186b000 rw-p 00023000 08:05 134262 /usr/lib/libk5crypto.so.3.1
b186b000-b18fa000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134268 /usr/lib/libkrb5.so.3.3
b18fa000-b18fc000 r--p 0008e000 08:05 134268 /usr/lib/libkrb5.so.3.3
b18fc000-b18fd000 rw-p 00090000 08:05 134268 /usr/lib/libkrb5.so.3.3
b18fd000-b1925000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134125 /usr/lib/libgssapi_krb5.so.2.2
b1925000-b1926000 r--p 00028000 08:05 134125 /usr/lib/libgssapi_krb5.so.2.2
b1926000-b1927000 rw-p 00029000 08:05 134125 /usr/lib/libgssapi_krb5.so.2.2
b1927000-b1933000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134187 /usr/lib/liblber-2.4.so.2.1.0
b1933000-b1934000 r--p 0000b000 08:05 134187 /usr/lib/liblber-2.4.so.2.1.0
b1934000-b1935000 rw-p 0000c000 08:05 134187 /usr/lib/liblber-2.4.so.2.1.0
b1935000-b1974000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 134213 /usr/lib/libldap_r-2.4.so.2.1.0
b1974000-b1975000 r--p 0003e000 08:05 134213 /usr/lib/libldap_r-2.4.so.2.1.0
b1975000-b1976000 rw-p 0003f000 08:05 134213 /usr/lib/libldap_r-2.4.so.2.1.0
b1976000-b1977000 rw-p b1976000 00:00 0
b1977000-b1b31000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 2228286 /lib/libnss_wins.so.2
b1b31000-b1b35000 r--p 001b9000 08:05 2228286 /lib/libnss_wins.so.2
b1b35000-b1b3a000 rw-p 001bd000 08:05 2228286 /lib/libnss_wins.so.2
b1b3a000-b1b3b000 rw-p b1b3a000 00:00 0
b1b46000-b1b48000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 8945798 /usr/lib/gconv/IBM850.so
b1b48000-b1b49000 r--p 00001000 08:05 8945798 /usr/lib/gconv/IBM850.so
b1b49000-b1b4a000 rw-p 00002000 08:05 8945798 /usr/lib/gconv/IBM850.so
b1b4a000-b1b61000 r--p 00000000 08:05 427920 /usr/share/locale-langpack/pt_BR/LC_MESSAGES/gedit.mo
b1b82000-b1bbe000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 131806 /usr/lib/libcurl.so.4.1.0
b1bbe000-b1bbf000 r--p 0003c000 08:05 131806 /usr/lib/libcurl.so.4.1.0
b1bbf000-b1bc0000 rw-p 0003d000 08:05 131806 /usr/lib/libcurl.so.4.1.0
b1bc0000-b1bd2000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 230449 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-narrowspace-plugin.so
b1bd2000-b1bd3000 r--p 00011000 08:05 230449 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-narrowspace-plugin.so
b1bd3000-b1bd4000 rw-p 00012000 08:05 230449 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-narrowspace-plugin.so
b1bd4000-b1be4000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 230448 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-mully-plugin.so
b1be4000-b1be5000 r--p 0000f000 08:05 230448 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-mully-plugin.so
b1be5000-b1be6000 rw-p 00010000 08:05 230448 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-mully-plugin.so
b1be6000-b1bfe000 r-xp 00000000 08:05 230446 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-gmp-plugin.so
b1bfe000-b1bff000 r--p 00018000 08:05 230446 /usr/lib/totem/gstreamer/libtotem-gmp-plugin.so
b1bff000-b1c00000 rw-p 00019000 08:05 230446 /usr/lib/totem/gstrCancelado

[Alvaro Leal (Effenberg0x0) (effenberg0x0)]

Futher information:

aleal@aleal-mobile:~$ lsb_release -rd
Description: Ubuntu 8.10
Release: 8.10
aleal@aleal-mobile:~$ apt-cache policy firefox
firefox:
  Instalado: 3.0.4+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
  Candidato: 3.0.4+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1
  Tabela de versão:
 *** 3.0.4+nobinonly-0ubuntu0.8.10.1 0
        500 http://br.archive.ubuntu.com intrepid-updates/main Packages
        500 http://security.ubuntu.com intrepid-security/main Packages
        100 /var/lib/dpkg/status
     3.0.3+nobinonly-0ubuntu2 0
        500 http://br.archive.ubuntu.com intrepid/main Packages
aleal@aleal-mobile:~$

[Alvaro Leal (Effenberg0x0) (effenberg0x0)]

I have followd instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/DebuggingProgramCrash to install the Firefox dbgsym file and produced a Backtrace according to the instructions at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Backtrace. Please check the attached file.

[Leon (leonbo)]

I'm having the same issue. It is really anoying. Looks a bit like bug #291843

[psypher (psypher246)]

MEEE TOOO. I am so happy i found this. 3 days now I have been searching. EXACT same symptoms

[Yossi Gil (yossi-gil)]

see a workaround here: https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/firefox-3.0/+bug/291843/comments/14