Timing error causes sendmail to die (5.59, 5.61) +FIX

Steve Campbell steve at eleazar.dartmouth.edu
Sat Feb 18 07:02:17 AEST 1989


Subject: Timing error causes sendmail to die (5.59, 5.61) +FIX
Index:	usr.lib/sendmail/src/usersmtp.c 4.3BSD

Description:
	The symptom was that sendmail would sometimes die during queue
	runs, leaving a lockfile set on some message.  There were no
	errors in syslog and no core file.

	Running the queue manually shows that the problem is a longjmp
	botch.  Since setevent/clrevent/tick are the main users of
	longjmp, I ran more manual queue runs with -d5.5 set to get
	event data.  Here are the pertinent portions of such a run that
	ended with the botch.  I have added line numbers for
	reference.

	Running AA28991
	<info-prime%ais1 at ecla.usc.edu>... Connecting to eclc.usc.edu (tcp)...
1	setevent: intvl=300, for=602974135, func=bb48, arg=0, ev=689c0
	tick: now=602973835
2	setevent: intvl=1800, for=602975635, func=c9f0, arg=0, ev=689e0
	tick: now=602973836
3	clrevent: ev=689e0
	tick: now=602973836
	220-ECLC.USC.EDU SMTP Service 5.1(15)-5 at Wed 8 Feb 89 12:41:28-PST
4	setevent: intvl=1800, for=602975636, func=c9f0, arg=0, ev=689e0
	tick: now=602973837
5	tick: now=602974136
	>>> QUIT
6	setevent: intvl=1800, for=602975936, func=c9f0, arg=0, ev=689c0
	tick: now=602974137
7	clrevent: ev=689c0
	tick: now=602974149
	<info-prime%ais1 at ecla.usc.edu>... reply: read error
	<info-prime%ais1 at ecla.usc.edu>... Deferred: Bad file number
	
	...25 minutes later...
	
	Chris Bogart <bogartc at handel.cs.colostate.edu>... Connecting to handel.ColoState.EDU (tcp)...
8	tick: now=602975636
	longjmp botch

Here's what happens line-by-line.

1	Smtpinit in usersmtp.c calls setevent with a 5 minute timeout for
	greeting wait.  It calls reply which calls sfgets.

2	sfgets in util.c calls setevent with a 30 minute timeout for reads.
3	The read is quick, and sfgets calls clrevent to clear the event set at 
	line 2.

4	The line read happens to be a continuation line, so reply calls
	sfgets again.  Sfgets again sets a 30 minute timeout.

5	Now the network goes to hell, and the next line is never received.
	Five minutes after the event set in line 1, the timer goes off.
	Sendmail gives up on the host and sends a QUIT.

6,7	An event is set for a response to the QUIT, but the connection gets
	closed down in 10 seconds.  Sendmail goes on to the next message.

	The crucial point is that the event set in line 4 has never
	been cleared.  Since the queue is big and the network slow,
	sendmail is still running 25 minutes later when, at line 8,
	that event goes off.  The functions involved have been called
	and returned many times, so when the function that tick calls
	does a longjmp, zap!

Repeat-By:
	Have sendmail do a queue run that takes more than half an hour
	on a lossy network.  Sooner or later, you will find orphan
	lockfiles.
Fix:
	The nested calls to setevent, with a subroutine (sfgets) setting
	a longer timeout than its caller (smtpinit), are the problem
	here.  I can think of several fixes.  One is to remove the
	5-minute timer completely; let the greeting timeout in 30
	minutes like all the other reads.  A second fix would be to
	change the event structure so that when one event is cleared,
	it can also clear any obsolete events.  Since events are only
	used here and in timing the queue runs, this fix seems like a
	lot of work for a seldom-used feature.  A third fix - the one I
	used - is to have smtpinit temporarily change the official
	ReadTimeout that sfgets is going to use, rather than have
	smtpinit call setevent itself.  While this is not the most
	elegant solution, it is simple and works.  I have been running
	it on our hub for more than a week.  There have been no more
	orphan lockfiles (I was getting about 1 a day), and nothing
	else seems to have broken.  Here are the patches against 5.61:


*** /tmp/,RCSt1006607	Sun Feb 12 13:05:44 1989
--- usersmtp.c	Thu Feb  9 22:02:22 1989
***************
*** 72,87 ****
  **		creates connection and sends initial protocol.
  */
  
- jmp_buf	CtxGreeting;
- 
  smtpinit(m, pvp)
  	struct mailer *m;
  	char **pvp;
  {
  	register int r;
! 	EVENT *gte;
  	char buf[MAXNAME];
- 	extern greettimeout();
  
  	/*
  	**  Open the connection to the mailer.
--- 72,84 ----
  **		creates connection and sends initial protocol.
  */
  
  smtpinit(m, pvp)
  	struct mailer *m;
  	char **pvp;
  {
  	register int r;
! 	time_t SavedReadTimeout;
  	char buf[MAXNAME];
  
  	/*
  	**  Open the connection to the mailer.
***************
*** 133,145 ****
  	**	happen.
  	*/
  
- 	if (setjmp(CtxGreeting) != 0)
- 		goto tempfail;
- 	gte = setevent((time_t) 300, greettimeout, 0);
  	SmtpPhase = "greeting wait";
  	setproctitle("%s %s: %s", CurEnv->e_id, CurHostName, SmtpPhase);
  	r = reply(m);
! 	clrevent(gte);
  	if (r < 0 || REPLYTYPE(r) != 2)
  		goto tempfail;
  
--- 130,142 ----
  	**	happen.
  	*/
  
  	SmtpPhase = "greeting wait";
  	setproctitle("%s %s: %s", CurEnv->e_id, CurHostName, SmtpPhase);
+ 	SavedReadTimeout = ReadTimeout;
+ 	if (ReadTimeout > 300)
+ 		ReadTimeout = 300;
  	r = reply(m);
! 	ReadTimeout = SavedReadTimeout;
  	if (r < 0 || REPLYTYPE(r) != 2)
  		goto tempfail;
  
***************
*** 218,231 ****
    unavailable:
  	smtpquit(m);
  	return (EX_UNAVAILABLE);
- }
- 
- 
- static
- greettimeout()
- {
- 	/* timeout reading the greeting message */
- 	longjmp(CtxGreeting, 1);
  }
  /*
  **  SMTPRCPT -- designate recipient.
--- 215,220 ----



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