Description of problem: aspell-0.33.7.1-25 goes into a bad memory/processor leak when invoked in SGML mode Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): aspell-0.33.7.1-25 How reproducible: invoke aspell with either -H or --mode=sgml Steps to Reproduce: 1. $ echo 'Kill me' > text.txt 2. aspell -H -c text.txt 3. watch a top and see the system grind to a halt Actual results: I've had to hit the power button after several of these ran simultaneously. I couldn't log in from the console or use CTRL-ALT-DEL from the virtual terminal! Expected results: Additional info:
I verified that aspell does go into a loop and consumes lots of memory, but aspell is a non-suid userland program. If in theory (*) it can DoS, then any userland program can also do the same, and this is something to be examined by the kernel/libc teams. * I was able to recover from a few of these running. It was very difficult and took a lot of time, but I could. Eventually the apps should terminate after they've exhausted memory.
closing as i weas able to recover. if you aren't able to recover, the DoS blame doesn't lie with the userspace app.