+++ This bug was initially created as a clone of Bug #695011 +++

Description of problem: While running debug builds the pem module sometimes crashes while attempting to write to its log file. The problem occurs when the module is used initially by an application being run as root and later by the same or another application running as a regular user.

Version-Release number of selected component (if applicable): nss-3.12.9-14.

How reproducible: often

Steps to Reproduce:
1. Use an application such as crypto-util's genkey untility to generate a self-signed certificate for an apache server or a CA. Such an operation must be run as root.
2. Run a application, e.g. curl, that will gets its cryptographic services by the pem module.

Actual results: The pem module crashes on initialization.

Expected results: The application should complete it's task normally

Additional info:

--- Additional comment from emaldona on 2011-04-09 14:27:42 EDT ---

The PEM module's initialization function pem_Initialize we has
....
    open_log(); 
    plog("pem_Initialize\n");
....
Looing is implemented in util.c with
FILE *plogfile;
void open_log()
{
#ifdef DEBUG
    plogfile = fopen("/tmp/pkcs11.log", "a");
#endif

    return;
}
The fopen tries to open the log file to write to it. If the log file was initilially created by an application running as root fopen will fail and plogfile will be set to NULL. Later plog calls
    vfprintf(plogfile, fmt, ap);
with a NULL and a crash happens.

Using the logging utilities from NSPR will prevent this problems. It is also what's required of modules intended to be part of NSS as this one is.

--- Additional comment from emaldona on 2011-04-09 15:30:36 EDT ---

Created attachment 490990 [details]
Reimplement PEM logging in terms of NSPR's own