microsoft / microsoft/mimalloc
Mimalloc v3 crash with many short-lived `mi_heap_t` created on different threads in thread pool
- Dominant language
- C
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Description
The crash occurs in `mi_free` when freeing a 10 KB memory allocation (which was created on the same thread, using the default heap for that thread). It occurs without ASAN enabled and with ASAN enabled (+ `MI_DEBUG_FULL=1` & `MI_TRACK_ASAN=ON`).
I'm not 100% certain this is a bug in Bun or a bug in Mimalloc v3. It does not occur in Mimalloc v1 or Mimalloc v2, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of unknowningly relying on implementation details. Each thread is essentially doing the same memory allocations repeatedly, which probably stress tests Mimalloc v3's memory reuse across threads.
Specifically, this test in Bun https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/blob/c3be6732d1e96c4ef78de09111314f0f6dd49af2/test/regression/issue/09748.test.ts#L215-L235.
Each time `transform` is called from JavaScript, the source code is cloned (using `mi_malloc`) and then on another thread, we create a `mi_heap_t` (via `mi_heap_new`, so `allow_destroy` is set to true there) to store all the AST nodes and almost everything else it's doing on that thread except for the output source code being returned. That output source code is passed back to the main thread, and the input source code (created initially via `mi_malloc` and not via the threadlocal `mi_heap_t`) gets freed. After about 100 invocations, it crashes in `mi_free` while freeing the [input source code](https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/blob/c3be6732d1e96c4ef78de09111314f0f6dd49af2/src/bun.js/api/JSTranspiler.zig#L245) (which calls [`encoded.deinit`](https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/blob/c3be6732d1e96c4ef78de09111314f0f6dd49af2/src/bun.js/node/types.zig#L542) which calls `mi_free` a few layers of indirection later)
https://github.com/oven-sh/bun/blob/c3be6732d1e96c4ef78de09111314f0f6dd49af2/src/bun.js/api/JSTranspiler.zig#L121-L241
I tried to come up with a minimal reproduction outside of Bun and was not successful. ASAN thinks its a use-after-free. ASAN does not show any errors here when using Mimalloc v1 or Mimalloc v2.
Are there any known bugs in the memory reuse code across threads in Mimalloc v3 that could potentially cause this?
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Research direction
Start with test/regression/issue/09748.test.ts lines 215-235 and the linked ranges in src/bun.js/api/JSTranspiler.zig and src/bun.js/node/types.zig. Reproduce the repeated cross-thread allocations with Mimalloc v3, then compare behavior with v1 and v2 and inspect the ASAN report. Done means determining whether the fault is in Mimalloc or Bun and documenting a reliable reproduction or regression test.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- bun, c
- Domain
- operating-systems
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Needs clarification
- Newbie friendliness
- 35/100