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

[Launchpad Bug Tracker]

This bug was fixed in the package coreutils - 8.13-3ubuntu3.1

---------------
coreutils (8.13-3ubuntu3.1) precise-proposed; urgency=low

  * Backport upstream patches to fix data-loss and free-memory read bugs in
    'sort -u' (LP: #1038468).
 -- Colin Watson <cjwatson at ubuntu.com>   Mon, 10 Sep 2012 14:32:58 +0100

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

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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 Released
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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