gcc tries to execute code on stack [again]

[Daniel Drewes]

Dear all,

after n attempts to get swarm running on our local solaris2.6
cluster I finally got mail from our administrator wondering where
all those "heatbugs[276] attempt to execute code on stack" in his
logs come from. Well, I didn't know I'm a security risk.

In the list archive I found a mail from Gary Polhill who seems to
have been fallen into the same pit. Due to some more or less obscure
security reasons programs that use nested functions segfault.
(set noexec_user_stack = 1  and set noexec_user_stack_log = 1 have to
be set in /etc/system)

http://www.santafe.edu/projects/swarm/archive/list-archive.9905/0122.html
http://www.santafe.edu/projects/swarm/archive/list-archive.9905/0124.html

Are there any alternatives to discussions about security and
security paranoia with my admins? (Would be a discussion with predictable
result.)

Or am I completely wrong? A typical bt in gdb looks like:
########
Reading symbols from .libs/heatbugs...done.
(gdb) run
Starting program: /tmp/swarm/swarmapps-2.0.1/heatbugs/.libs/heatbugs 
warning: Unable to find dynamic linker breakpoint function.
warning: GDB will be unable to debug shared library initializers
warning: and track explicitly loaded dynamic code.
Program received signal SIGSEGV, Segmentation fault.
0xeffff3a0 in ?? ()
(gdb) bt
#0  0xeffff3a0 in ?? ()
#1  0xef496424 in lispProcessPairs (aZone=0x59ae0, obj=0x65dd8, 
    mapUpdateFunc=0xeffff3a0 <_end+8776696>) at LispArchiver.m:60
#2  0xef49667c in lispProcessMakeObjcPairs (aZone=0x59ae0, expr=0x65dd8, 
    app=0x65e28) at LispArchiver.m:87
#3  0xef496efc in -[LispArchiver(c) _lispLoadArchiver:] (self=0x65d48, 
    _cmd=0xef4cf084, expr=0x65dd8) at LispArchiver.m:199
#4  0xef496bfc in -[LispArchiver(c) _createEnd] (self=0x65d48, _cmd=0xef4d43f0)
    at LispArchiver.m:160
#5  0xef4ae8cc in initDefobj (argc=1, argv=0xeffff71c, 
    appName=0x14160 "heatbugs", version=0x14170 "2.0.1", 
    bugAddress=0x14178 "address@hidden", argumentsClass=0xef4d00c8, 
    options=0x0, optionFunc=0, inhibitExecutableSearchFlag=0) at defobj.m:180
#6  0xef6b9c88 in _initSwarm_ (argc=1, argv=0xeffff71c, 
    appName=0x14160 "heatbugs", version=0x14170 "2.0.1", 
    bugAddress=0x14178 "address@hidden", argumentsClass=0x0, 
    options=0x0, optionFunc=0, forceBatchMode=0, inhibitExecutableSearchFlag=0)
    at simtools.m:68
#7  0x11d08 in main (argc=1, argv=0xeffff71c) at main.m:22
(gdb) 
########



Thanks,
        -daniel

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