Bug 128855 - su to root maxxes out CPU for 60-90 seconds
Summary: su to root maxxes out CPU for 60-90 seconds
Status: CLOSED WORKSFORME
Alias: None
Product: Fedora
Classification: Fedora
Component: coreutils (Show other bugs)
(Show other bugs)
Version: 1
Hardware: i386 Linux
medium
high
Target Milestone: ---
Assignee: Tim Waugh
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Blocks:
TreeView+ depends on / blocked
 
Reported: 2004-07-30 16:19 UTC by Joe Pepersack
Modified: 2007-11-30 22:10 UTC (History)
0 users

Fixed In Version:
Doc Type: Bug Fix
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Last Closed: 2005-09-08 15:41:42 UTC
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Description Joe Pepersack 2004-07-30 16:19:39 UTC 
From Bugzilla Helper:
User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Windows; U; Windows NT 5.0; en-US; rv:1.5)
Gecko/20031007

Description of problem:
The first time I su to root on a given day, /bin/su will consume 100%
of the CPU for 60 to 90 seconds, during which time the system is
almost completely unresponsive.  xload shows the cpu load spiking to 7
or 8 from near-zero load before and after.  Subsequent invocations of
su that day will perform normally, but the problem always returns the
next day.

Given the recurrent daily nature of this I suspected that it might be
related to a bad cron job leaving some garbage behind, but so far I've
been unable to duplicate the problem by running cron jobs during the
day and checking the system immediately after they run.  

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable):
coreutils-5.0-34.1

How reproducible:
Sometimes

Steps to Reproduce:
1. su to root 
    

Actual Results:  CPU utilization spikes to 100% for 60-90 seconds on
first invocation per day.

Expected Results:  CPU utilization should be negligable; command
should return immediately

Additional info:
Comment 1 Tim Waugh 2004-07-30 16:22:07 UTC 
Please log in as root and run:

strace /bin/su 2>log

Then attach the resulting 'log' file.
Comment 2 Tim Waugh 2005-09-08 15:41:42 UTC 
No feedback.
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