Activity log for bug #494667

Date Who What changed Old value New value Message
2009-12-09 19:06:32 Dave Martin bug added bug
2009-12-10 14:44:57 Dave Martin description Binary package hint: squashfs-tools mksquashfs.c currently accesses the following structures through misaligned pointers: at least the following: squashfs_base_inode_header * squashfs_dir_entry * squashfs_dir_header * squashfs_dir_inode_header * squashfs_ldir_inode_header * squashfs_reg_inode_header * squashfs_symlink_inode_header * unsigned short * I haven't checked the rest of this package, but there are likely to be issues elsewhere as well. Not all memory access instructions can access at unaligned addresses on ARM; GCC assumes that pointers are properly aligned for their type because attempts by a C program to access an lvalue via a pointer which is not properly aligned for the lvalue's type are not permitted under strict interpretation of the C language specification. Particularly when doing block transfers of whole structures (*obj_p_dest = *obj_p_src) and equivalent operations, LDM or STM instructions are emitted by the compiler: these _always_ fault into the kernel if the base address is unaligned, and can cause a significant performance hit. In addition, prior to Linux 2.6.31, the kernel cannot successfully emulate all misaligned LDM or STM instructions for Thumb ... leading to the SIGILLs which have been observed on the lucid buildds (2.6.28 kernel) when moving to v7. Possible workarounds: * fix squashfs-tools to use strict C only (laborious... either build squashfs filesystem structures at true alignment and then copy them into place in the output, or * declare all the affected types with __attribute__ (( __packed__ )) so GCC knows the structures may be accessed at misaligned locations (care must be taken to make sure the structures' sizes and internal arrangement do not change as a result of this, and the resulting code may run significantly slower --- I've not checked for the implications of this. Some other check is needed for unsigned short, or it must be wrapped in a structure or union type, because GCC cannot tag basic types with the __packed__ attribute) * apply the appropriate LDM/STM emulation patches to the kernel used on the buildds (if feasible --- I'll try and feed back on this) Binary package hint: squashfs-tools mksquashfs.c currently accesses the following structures through misaligned pointers: at least the following: squashfs_base_inode_header * squashfs_dir_entry * squashfs_dir_header * squashfs_dir_inode_header * squashfs_ldir_inode_header * squashfs_reg_inode_header * squashfs_symlink_inode_header * unsigned short * I haven't checked the rest of this package, but there are likely to be issues elsewhere as well. Not all memory access instructions can access at unaligned addresses on ARM; GCC assumes that pointers are properly aligned for their type because attempts by a C program to access an lvalue via a pointer which is not properly aligned for the lvalue's type are not permitted under strict interpretation of the C language specification. Particularly when doing block transfers of whole structures (*obj_p_dest = *obj_p_src) and equivalent operations, LDM or STM instructions are emitted by the compiler: these _always_ fault into the kernel if the base address is unaligned, and can cause a significant performance hit. In addition, prior to Linux 2.6.31, the kernel cannot successfully emulate all misaligned LDM or STM instructions for Thumb ... leading to the SIGILLs which have been observed on the lucid buildds (2.6.28 kernel) when moving to v7. Possible workarounds: * Build squashfs-tools with -marm   * fix squashfs-tools to use strict C only (laborious... either build squashfs filesystem structures at true alignment and then copy them into place in the output, or   * declare all the affected types with __attribute__ (( __packed__ )) so GCC knows the structures may be accessed at misaligned locations (care must be taken to make sure the structures' sizes and internal arrangement do not change as a result of this, and the resulting code may run significantly slower --- I've not checked for the implications of this. Some other check is needed for unsigned short, or it must be wrapped in a structure or union type, because GCC cannot tag basic types with the __packed__ attribute)   * apply the appropriate LDM/STM emulation patches to the kernel used on the buildds (if feasible --- I'll try and feed back on this)
2009-12-10 15:01:23 Alexander Sack squashfs (Ubuntu): importance Undecided Critical
2009-12-10 15:01:23 Alexander Sack squashfs (Ubuntu): status New Triaged
2009-12-10 15:01:23 Alexander Sack squashfs (Ubuntu): milestone lucid-alpha-2
2009-12-10 15:01:23 Alexander Sack squashfs (Ubuntu): assignee David Sugar (dyfet)
2009-12-10 15:01:48 Alexander Sack nominated for series Ubuntu Lucid
2009-12-10 15:01:48 Alexander Sack bug task added squashfs (Ubuntu Lucid)
2009-12-11 20:37:22 David Sugar attachment added debdiff from 0.4-3 to 0.4-3ubuntu1 http://launchpadlibrarian.net/36702904/squashfs.debdiff.gz
2009-12-11 23:45:10 Launchpad Janitor squashfs (Ubuntu Lucid): status Triaged Fix Released
2009-12-14 01:46:11 Michael Casadevall squashfs (Ubuntu Lucid): status Fix Released In Progress
2009-12-14 09:41:11 Daniel Holbach removed subscriber Ubuntu Core Development Team
2009-12-14 10:30:44 Loïc Minier removed subscriber Ubuntu Sponsors for main
2009-12-17 14:07:22 Emmet Hikory bug task added squashfs-tools (Ubuntu)
2009-12-17 14:10:50 Emmet Hikory attachment added squashfs-tools_4.0-6ubuntu1.debdiff http://launchpadlibrarian.net/36906760/squashfs-tools_4.0-6ubuntu1.debdiff
2009-12-17 14:11:31 Emmet Hikory squashfs-tools (Ubuntu Lucid): status New Triaged
2009-12-17 14:11:32 Emmet Hikory squashfs-tools (Ubuntu Lucid): importance Undecided Critical
2009-12-17 14:11:36 Emmet Hikory squashfs-tools (Ubuntu Lucid): assignee Emmet Hikory (persia)
2009-12-17 14:11:46 Emmet Hikory squashfs-tools (Ubuntu Lucid): milestone lucid-alpha-2
2009-12-17 14:25:08 Launchpad Janitor squashfs-tools (Ubuntu Lucid): status Triaged Fix Released
2009-12-17 14:30:19 Alexander Sack squashfs (Ubuntu Lucid): status In Progress Fix Released
2009-12-18 06:57:13 Launchpad Janitor branch linked lp:ubuntu/squashfs-tools
2009-12-18 08:55:26 Launchpad Janitor branch linked lp:ubuntu/squashfs
2011-02-17 08:08:14 Daniel Holbach bug added subscriber Ubuntu Sponsors Team
2011-02-17 08:08:20 Daniel Holbach removed subscriber [DEPRECATED] Ubuntu Sponsors for main
2011-02-21 23:28:04 Benjamin Drung removed subscriber Ubuntu Sponsors Team