Using `py::keep_alive<N, P>()` may cause `internals.patients[nurse]` to grow without bounds
Nobody has claimed this yet.
- Dominant language
- C++
- Stars
- 18k
- Forks
- 2.3k
- Avg merge
- 5d 17h
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 10
Description
Looking at some of the internals, it looks like return_value_policy::reference_internal is only "activated" when an instance is created newly registered:
https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/blob/48e1f9a/include/pybind11/cast.h#L552
However, py::keep_alive<N, P>() looks like it is always activated:
https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/blob/48e1f9a/include/pybind11/pybind11.h#L140
https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/blob/48e1f9a/include/pybind11/attr.h#L442
https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/blob/48e1f9a/include/pybind11/pybind11.h#L1470
https://github.com/pybind/pybind11/blob/48e1f9a/include/pybind11/detail/class.h#L289
A simple fix (for only pybind-registered objects) would be to add a simple check:
#include <algorithm>
...
auto& p = internals.patients[nurse];
if (std::find(p.begin(), p.end(), patient) != p.end()) ...
This would impact performance a little, but would prevent a packrat problem for long(er)-running Python programs.
Not sure about the non-pybind case in keep_alive_impl; however, it looks like this would just leak some reference counting, which may be less of an issue than an array growing.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start by tracing keep_alive_impl and the referenced paths in include/pybind11/cast.h, pybind11.h, attr.h, and detail/class.h. Reproduce repeated py::keep_alive<N, P>() use and inspect internals.patients[nurse], including the non-pybind case. Done means the reported unbounded growth is addressed with regression coverage without breaking lifetime management.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- cpp, python
- Domain
- backend-api-design
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 25/100