Embedding Python crash on PyTuple_New

MRAB python at mrabarnett.plus.com
Tue Nov 23 12:31:22 EST 2021


On 2021-11-23 16:04, Arnaud Loonstra wrote:
> On 23-11-2021 16:37, MRAB wrote:
>> On 2021-11-23 15:17, MRAB wrote:
>>> On 2021-11-23 14:44, Arnaud Loonstra wrote:
>>>> On 23-11-2021 15:34, MRAB wrote:
>>>>> On 2021-11-23 12:07, Arnaud Loonstra wrote:
>>>>>> Hi,
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've got Python embedded successfully in a program up until now as I'm
>>>>>> now running into weird GC related segfaults. I'm currently trying to
>>>>>> debug this but my understanding of CPython limits me here.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I'm creating a Tuple in C but it crashes on creating it after a while.
>>>>>> It doesn't make sense which makes me wonder something else must be
>>>>>> happening? Could be it just crashes here because the GC is cleaning up
>>>>>> stuff completely unrelated to the allocation of the new tuple? How 
>>>>>> can I
>>>>>> troubleshoot this?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I've got CPython compiled with  --with-valgrind --without-pymalloc
>>>>>> --with-pydebug
>>>>>>
>>>>>> In C I'm creating a tuple with the following method:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> static PyObject *
>>>>>> s_py_zosc_tuple(pythonactor_t *self, zosc_t *oscmsg)
>>>>>> {
>>>>>>       assert(self);
>>>>>>       assert(oscmsg);
>>>>>>       char *format = zosc_format(oscmsg);
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       PyObject *rettuple = PyTuple_New((Py_ssize_t) strlen(format) );
>>>>>>
>>>>>> It segfaults here (frame 16) after 320 times (consistently)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> 1   __GI_raise             raise.c          49   0x7ffff72c4e71
>>>>>> 2   __GI_abort             abort.c          79   0x7ffff72ae536
>>>>>> 3   fatal_error            pylifecycle.c    2183 0x7ffff7d84b4f
>>>>>> 4   Py_FatalError          pylifecycle.c    2193 0x7ffff7d878b2
>>>>>> 5   _PyObject_AssertFailed object.c         2200 0x7ffff7c93cf2
>>>>>> 6   visit_decref           gcmodule.c       378  0x7ffff7dadfd5
>>>>>> 7   tupletraverse          tupleobject.c    623  0x7ffff7ca3e81
>>>>>> 8   subtract_refs          gcmodule.c       406  0x7ffff7dad340
>>>>>> 9   collect                gcmodule.c       1054 0x7ffff7dae838
>>>>>> 10  collect_with_callback  gcmodule.c       1240 0x7ffff7daf17b
>>>>>> 11  collect_generations    gcmodule.c       1262 0x7ffff7daf3f6
>>>>>> 12  _PyObject_GC_Alloc     gcmodule.c       1977 0x7ffff7daf4f2
>>>>>> 13  _PyObject_GC_Malloc    gcmodule.c       1987 0x7ffff7dafebc
>>>>>> 14  _PyObject_GC_NewVar    gcmodule.c       2016 0x7ffff7daffa5
>>>>>> 15  PyTuple_New            tupleobject.c    118  0x7ffff7ca4da7
>>>>>> 16  s_py_zosc_tuple        pythonactor.c    366  0x55555568cc82
>>>>>> 17  pythonactor_socket     pythonactor.c    664  0x55555568dac7
>>>>>> 18  pythonactor_handle_msg pythonactor.c    862  0x55555568e472
>>>>>> 19  pythonactor_handler    pythonactor.c    828  0x55555568e2e2
>>>>>> 20  sphactor_actor_run     sphactor_actor.c 855  0x5555558cb268
>>>>>> ... <More>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Any pointer really appreciated.
>>>>>>
>>>>> You're creating a tuple that'll have the same number of members as 
>>>>> the length of a string? That looks strange to me.
>>>>>
>>>>> How are you setting the tuple's members?
>>>>
>>>> It's from a serialisation format called OSC. The string describes the
>>>> type of bytes, every character is a type.
>>>>
>>>> I'm creating the tuple as follows:
>>>>
>>>> PyObject *rettuple = PyTuple_New((Py_ssize_t) strlen(format) );
>>>>
>>>> Then I iterate the OSC message using the format string, (just showing
>>>> handling an int (i))
>>>>
>>>>       char type = '0';
>>>>       Py_ssize_t pos = 0;
>>>>       const void *data =  zosc_first(oscmsg, &type);
>>>>       while(data)
>>>>       {
>>>>           switch (type)
>>>>           {
>>>>           case('i'):
>>>>           {
>>>>               int32_t val = 9;
>>>>               int rc = zosc_pop_int32(oscmsg, &val);
>>>>               assert(rc == 0);
>>>>               PyObject *o = PyLong_FromLong((long)val);
>>>>               assert( o );
>>>>               rc = PyTuple_SetItem(rettuple, pos, o);
>>>>               assert(rc == 0);
>>>>               break;
>>>>           }
>>>>
>>>> Full code is here:
>>>>
>>>> https://github.com/hku-ect/gazebosc/blob/822452dfa27201db274d37ce09e835d98fe500b2/Actors/pythonactor.c#L360 
>>>>
>>>>
>>> Looking at that code, you have:
>>>
>>>       PyObject *o = Py_BuildValue("s#", str, 1);
>>>
>>> what I'd check is the type of the 1 that you're passing. Wouldn't the
>>> compiler assume that it's an int?
>>>
>>> The format string tells the function to expect a Py_ssize_t, but how
>>> would the compiler know that?
>>>
>> Looking at https://www.mankier.com/3/zosc, it says for 'T' and 'F' "(no 
>> value required)", but you're doing:
>> 
>>      int rc = zosc_pop_bool(oscmsg, &bl);
>> 
>> If no value is required, is there a bool there to be popped?
> 
> The value is only required to set a user provided boolean to the value
> in the message. There's no boolean value encoded in the message, only
> the T and F in the format string.
> 
> With regards to the Py_BuildValue("s#", str, 1);, that's a valid point.
> I'll fix that. However in the segfaults I'm testing that code is not
> touched.

You can use "C" as a format string for Py_BuildValue to convert a C int 
representing a character to a Python string.

> I'm now testing different parts of the code to see if it runs stable.
> I've found it runs stable if I do not process the returned tuple.
> 
> PyObject *pReturn = PyObject_CallMethod(self->pyinstance,
>                       "handleSocket", "sOsss",
>                       oscaddress,
>                       py_osctuple,
>                       ev->type, ev->name, strdup(ev->uuid));
> Py_XINCREF(pReturn);
> 
Why the Py_XINCREF? PyObject_CallMethod returns a new reference. The 
Py_DECREF that you do later won't destroy the object because of that 
additional Py_XINCREF, so that's a memory leak.

> https://github.com/hku-ect/gazebosc/blob/505b30c46bf3f78d188c3f575c80e294d3db7e5d/Actors/pythonactor.c#L673
> 
> and a bit further in the code I convert the Python tuple to an OSC message:
> 
> zosc_t *retosc = s_py_zosc(pAddress, pData);
> 
> https://github.com/hku-ect/gazebosc/blob/505b30c46bf3f78d188c3f575c80e294d3db7e5d/Actors/pythonactor.c#L732
> 
> If I change that line to:
> 
> zosc_t *retosc = zosc_create("/temp", "ii", 32, 64);
> 
> It runs stable.
> 
> I would turn my attention to s_py_zosc function but I'm not sure. Since
> the errors are GC related it could caused anywhere?
> 
Basically, yes, but I won't be surprised if it was due to too few 
INCREFs or too many DECREFs somewhere.

> https://github.com/hku-ect/gazebosc/blob/505b30c46bf3f78d188c3f575c80e294d3db7e5d/Actors/pythonactor.c#L286
> 
Incidentally, in s_py_zosc_tuple, you're not doing "assert(rc == 0);" 
after "after zosc_pop_float" or "zosc_pop_double".


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