`FileFinder._find_children` can loop forever on a persistently failing directory scan

• Location: Lib/importlib/_bootstrap_external.py:1469 (inside a while True: loop, backing the new PathEntryFinder.discover() API, added 2026 via gh-139899)

https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/1ad63ccc066a329180cfa8f4a8c4be8be47db973/Lib/importlib/_bootstrap_external.py#L1452-L1472

• Problem: Scans a directory via os.scandir(); any OSError from next() or from an entry's is_dir()/is_file() is caught and ignored without breaking the loop. For a transient single-entry failure this is reasonable (skip and continue). But if the underlying condition is persistent — e.g. an NFS "stale file handle," a disconnected removable volume — every subsequent next() raises the same error forever, and the loop never terminates: no break, no retry limit.
• Reproducer (verified): patched os.scandir to return an iterator whose __next__ unconditionally raises OSError forever; finder._find_children() under a 10-second timeout was killed (exit 124) — confirmed genuine hang. A companion test with a single transient injected error correctly skipped it and returned all real entries, confirming the "skip one bad entry" case works — it's specifically the persistent-failure case that hangs.
• Suggested fix: Add a break (or a bounded retry counter) in the except OSError: branch.
• Difficulty: Small, but a real hang bug (not just silent data loss) — worth flagging prominently. New code (2026), no existing discussion found.

CPython versions tested on:

CPython main branch

Operating systems tested on:

Linux

Linked PRs

• gh-155939

Empieza en Lib/importlib/_bootstrap_external.py alrededor de la línea 1469, dentro del bucle de escaneo de FileFinder._find_children. Ejecuta el reproductor del fallo persistente y la prueba complementaria del error transitorio descritos en el issue. Se considera terminado cuando el escaneo con un OSError persistente finaliza, mientras que un único fallo transitorio de una entrada sigue permitiendo devolver las entradas restantes.