microsoft / microsoft/Detours

Isn't there a possible deadlock issue with DetourUpdateThread and DetourTransactionCommit?

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bug
Dominant language
C++
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Description

I notice that both DetourUpdateThread and DetourTransactionCommit use new and delete in their code. Assuming these eventually translate to calls to GlobalAlloc and GlobalFree, isn't it possible for deadlock to occur if a thread previously suspended by DetourUpdateThread currently holds a lock on the default heap? This could be avoided by having Detours allocate its own heap with CreateHeap and using that heap for all allocations that occur during a transaction.

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reading the allocation and suspension paths in DetourUpdateThread and DetourTransactionCommit, focusing on the new/delete calls and the default heap assumptions described here. Determine whether a suspended thread can hold a heap lock during a transaction, then document or validate the outcome and assess the proposed private heap approach.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
cpp
Domain
devtools, operating-systems
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
30/100

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