uutils / uutils/coreutils

bug(ptx): panics when -g is a large number

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U - ptx
Dominant language
Rust
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Description

Hi, uutils mainteners

ptx panics when the -g option is a large number instead of erroing out like the GNU ptx

to reproduce that, i used

relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ ./ptx -g 99999999999 a
memory allocation of 99999999999 bytes failed
note: run with `RUST_BACKTRACE=1` environment variable to display a backtrace
Aborted                    (core dumped) ./ptx -g 99999999999 a
relunsec@relunsec:~/software/coreutils/target/debug$ 

then i compared it with GNU ptx as i see no panic when -g is a large number

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

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 with the ptx command entry point and reproduce the failure using ptx -g 99999999999 a. Trace how the -g value is parsed and compare the result with GNU ptx for an oversized value. Done means ptx reports an error instead of attempting the allocation and aborting, with a regression test covering the case.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
2/5
Estimated time
1-3 hours
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
64/100

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