diff --git a/scripts/fiber_gpf_issue.md b/scripts/fiber_gpf_issue.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..724dd6e --- /dev/null +++ b/scripts/fiber_gpf_issue.md @@ -0,0 +1,65 @@ +# Io.Evented + ReleaseSafe: GPF in fiber.zig contextSwitch on x86_64-linux + +`Io.Evented` crashes with a general protection fault under ReleaseSafe on x86_64-linux. Debug, ReleaseFast, and ReleaseSmall all pass. Tested on unpatched zig — no modifications to the stdlib. + +## Reproduction + +```zig +const std = @import("std"); +const Io = std.Io; + +var evented: Io.Evented = undefined; + +var debug_threaded_io: Io.Threaded = undefined; +pub const std_options_debug_threaded_io: ?*Io.Threaded = &debug_threaded_io; + +fn fiberReturn(_: Io) void {} + +pub fn main() !void { + const allocator = std.heap.c_allocator; + debug_threaded_io = Io.Threaded.init(allocator, .{}); + try Io.Evented.init(&evented, allocator, .{}); + const io = evented.io(); + + var f = try io.concurrent(fiberReturn, .{io}); + io.sleep(Io.Duration.fromMilliseconds(10), .awake) catch {}; + f.cancel(io); +} +``` + +``` +$ zig build-exe -OReleaseSafe repro.zig -lc && ./repro +General protection exception (no address available) +lib/std/Io/fiber.zig:30:20: 0x1079589 in contextSwitch +lib/std/Io/Uring.zig:1142:12: 0x109cc86 in mainIdle +``` + +| Mode | Result | +|------|--------| +| Debug | pass | +| ReleaseFast | pass | +| ReleaseSmall | pass | +| ReleaseSafe | GPF | + +## Environment + +- zig 0.16.0-dev.3059+42e33db9d, unmodified +- x86_64-linux, kernel 6.8.0-101-generic (Debian bookworm, glibc) + +## What we've observed + +The crash is at the inline asm in `fiber.zig` contextSwitch (x86_64 path, line 244). This gets inlined into `Uring.idle`. + +Comparing the disassembly of `Uring.idle` between ReleaseFast and ReleaseSafe, the difference we see is in how `%rsi` is set up before the inline asm block. The asm uses `"{rsi}" (s)` as an input constraint: + +**ReleaseFast** — there's a `lea -0x80(%rbp),%rsi` that loads the SwitchMessage address into `%rsi` before the asm block. + +**ReleaseSafe** — the corresponding `lea` appears to be absent. `%rsi` seems to hold a stale value from a prior function call (`Thread.current`, which is caller-saved). The ReleaseSafe prologue includes `__zig_probe_stack` and a stack canary load (`fs:0x28`) that aren't present in ReleaseFast. + +We're not certain this is the full picture — we may be misreading the disassembly or missing something about how the register constraint interacts with the surrounding code. But the crash is consistent and the repro is deterministic. + +## Context + +We're building an AT Protocol relay ([zlay](https://tangled.sh/zzstoatzz.io/zlay)) that runs ~2,800 concurrent fibers on `Io.Evented`. We've been working around this by building with ReleaseFast, but recently a separate bug (a websocket off-by-one) manifested as a silent SIGSEGV under ReleaseFast for weeks. ReleaseSafe would have caught it immediately as a bounds-check panic with a stack trace. + +We understand Evented is experimental. Happy to provide more information or test patches.