[Bug 1038468] Re: data loss on sort -u

[Adam Conrad]

Hello C, or anyone else affected,

Accepted coreutils into precise-proposed. The package will build now and
be available at
http://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/coreutils/8.13-3ubuntu3.1 in a few
hours, and then in the -proposed repository.

Please help us by testing this new package.  See
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Testing/EnableProposed for documentation how to
enable and use -proposed.  Your feedback will aid us getting this update
out to other Ubuntu users.

If this package fixes the bug for you, please change the bug tag from
verification-needed to verification-done.  If it does not, change the
tag to verification-failed.  In either case, details of your testing
will help us make a better decision.

Further information regarding the verification process can be found at
https://wiki.ubuntu.com/QATeam/PerformingSRUVerification .  Thank you in
advance!

** Changed in: coreutils (Ubuntu Precise)
       Status: In Progress => Fix Committed

** Tags added: verification-needed

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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/1038468

Title:
  data loss on sort -u

Status in “coreutils” package in Ubuntu:
  Fix Released
Status in “coreutils” source package in Precise:
  Fix Committed
Status in “coreutils” source package in Quantal:
  Fix Released
Status in “coreutils” package in Debian:
  New

Bug description:
  [Impact] In some corner cases, 'sort -u' loses data.
  [Test Case] http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=9780
  [Regression Potential] It's coreutils, and a change to a vital system utility.  The coreutils test suite should save us from the worst mistakes, but some paranoia would be justified.  Perhaps booting a system with this change and using it for a day or two would be wise.

  Original report follows:

  Last year a bug was reported to upstream coreutils [1] about problems
  on using 'sort -u'. Until recently, there was no known reproducing
  process; one such process was published last week [2].

  Although triggering the bug can be said to be a non-completely trivial
  use case, data loss in 'sort' should be looked at as a serious issue.

  Today Jim Meyering committed what looks like the final touches of the
  fix (incidentally also solving a different issue (a free memory read),
  also in 'sort'. There are 4 commits affected, and they are shown
  starting in [3].

  Given this is a data loss potential, I am opening this bug for all
  affected releases (this bug affects Coreutils 8.6 onwards -- Precise
  and Quantal). I am still to run the tests on Lucid, Natty, and
  Oneiric.

  [1] http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=9780
  [2]  http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-coreutils/2012-08/msg00027.html
  [3] http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-coreutils/2012-08/msg00057.html

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