Segfault at exit when calling `sys.activate_stack_trampoline("perf")` after loading a native library
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Description
Crash report
What happened?
import sys, ctypes
ctypes.CDLL(None)
sys.activate_stack_trampoline("perf")
sys.activate_stack_trampoline("perf")
sys.activate_stack_trampoline("perf")
100% reproducible on 3.13.12, exits cleanly on 3.13.11.
Same between 3.14.3 and 3.14.2
Things of note:
- The crash occurs during interpreter finalization, not at the point of the call
- No exception is raised;
is_stack_trampoline_active()returnsTrueafter each call - Without
ctypes.CDLL, 3 calls don't crash (but 10 calls do crash with "no more code watcher IDs available" + segfault) - 2 calls +
ctypes.CDLLdoesn't crash; 3 calls is the threshold
Repeated calls to activate_stack_trampoline("perf") when the trampoline is already active should either be a no-op or raise an error.
CPython versions tested on:
3.13, 3.14
Operating systems tested on:
Linux
Output from running 'python -VV' on the command line:
Python 3.13.12 (main, Mar 10 2026, 18:17:38) [Clang 21.1.4 ]
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 running the provided Python reproducer on CPython 3.13.12 and 3.14.3, then trace the implementation of sys.activate_stack_trampoline("perf") through interpreter finalization. Check how repeated activation interacts with ctypes.CDLL(None), and verify that repeated calls either become no-ops or raise an error without a shutdown segfault.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- python
- Domain
- backend
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Quiet
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100