If you run: root# strace -f kmodule -d on kernel 2.6.11-1.1284_FC4 (UP i686), the output will end with something like: clone(Process 4326 attached child_stack=0, flags=CLONE_CHILD_CLEARTID|CLONE_CHILD_SETTID|SIGCHLD, child_tidptr=0xb7fcb708) = 4326 [pid 4320] exit_group(0) = ? and the box may freeze, after leaving the following trail in /var/log/messages: Unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at virtual address 00000000 printing eip: 00000000 *pde = 00000000 Oops: 0000 [#1] Modules linked in: nfsd exportfs lockd parport_pc lp parport autofs4 i2c_dev i2c_core rfcomm l2cap bluetooth tun sunrpc pcmcia ipt_REJECT ipt_LOG ipt_state iptable_filter iptable_nat ip_conntrack iptable_mangle ip_tables video button battery ac md5 ipv6 yenta_socket rsrc_nonstatic pcmcia_core snd_maestro3 snd_ac97_codec snd_seq_dummy snd_seq_oss snd_seq_midi_event snd_seq snd_seq_device snd_pcm_oss snd_mixer_oss snd_pcm snd_timer snd_page_alloc snd soundcore e100 mii floppy dm_snapshot dm_zero dm_mirror ext3 jbd dm_mod usb_storage uhci_hcd sbp2 ohci1394 ieee1394 sd_mod scsi_mod CPU: 0 EIP: 0060:[<00000000>] Not tainted VLI EFLAGS: 00010286 (2.6.11-1.1284_FC4) EIP is at _stext+0x3feffdd8/0x8 eax: d42ee000 ebx: 01200011 ecx: 00000000 edx: 00000000 esi: d3b01000 edi: d46b0bc4 ebp: d42ee000 esp: d42eefc4 ds: 007b es: 007b ss: 0068 Process kmodule (pid: 4326, threadinfo=d42ee000 task=d3b01000) Stack: 01202011 00000000 00000000 00000000 b7fcb708 bfbec4cc 00000000 c010007b c010007b 00000078 00fd3402 00000073 00000282 bfbec474 0000007b Call Trace: Code: Bad EIP value. <0>Fatal exception: panic in 5 seconds
Created attachment 114066 [details] patch posted to lkml that allegedly fixes the problem As luck would have it, Krzysztof Halasa <khc.pl> ran into the same problem earlier today and posted about it to lkml. Alexander Nyberg <alexn> posted the attached e-mail containing a patch, and Krzysztof confirmed it fixed the bug.
*** Bug 156045 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***
this patch is included in -rc4, so 1290 and above should have it. (you can grab it early from http://people.redhat.com/davej/kernels/Fedora/FC4) it'll be in tomorrows rawhide
*** Bug 157141 has been marked as a duplicate of this bug. ***