[PATCH v2] nscd: Define nscd_ssize_t as int32_t unconditionally
Magnus Lindholm
linmag7@gmail.com
Mon Aug 10 15:49:22 GMT 2026
alpha was the only target that overrode sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h,
defining nscd_ssize_t as int64_t rather than int32_t. The file dated back
to the initial import and had only ever received licence and copyright
updates.
nscd's response headers are a wire format, shared between the daemon and
its clients through a socket and through the persistent cache. A 64-bit
nscd_ssize_t gives four of them 8-byte alignment while their last member is
32 bits, so they acquire four bytes of tail padding: hst_response_header,
ai_response_header, serv_response_header and innetgroup_response_header.
For the hosts cache that is fatal. cache_addhst() asserts that the string
data follows the header with no gap, and on alpha it does not:
nscd: hstcache.c:269: cache_addhst: Assertion
`(char *) (&dataset->resp.error + 1) == dataset->strdata' failed.
The daemon aborts, and nscd/tst-nscd-basic fails with 58 errors. With the
override removed it passes.
The padding is also never initialised. cache_addhst() assigns the header
fields individually and nothing clears the record, yet the response is sent
with writeall (fd, &dataset->resp, ...) covering the full
sizeof (hst_response_header), so four uninitialised bytes reach every
client.
With alpha gone there is no target left overriding the type, so the sysdeps
indirection has no purpose. Delete both headers and define nscd_ssize_t
directly in nscd/nscd-client.h alongside the wire format it describes.
This changes nscd's protocol and persistent cache layout on alpha; the
daemon and its clients always come from the same build, so the exposure is
a daemon left running or a cache file left behind across the upgrade.
Signed-off-by: Magnus Lindholm <linmag7@gmail.com>
---
v1: https://inbox.sourceware.org/libc-alpha/20260810093459.3283958-1-linmag7@gmail.com/
v2: also delete sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h and define nscd_ssize_t
directly in nscd/nscd-client.h, per review. Retitled accordingly.
nscd/nscd-client.h | 4 +++-
sysdeps/alpha/nscd-types.h | 21 ---------------------
sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h | 21 ---------------------
3 files changed, 3 insertions(+), 43 deletions(-)
delete mode 100644 sysdeps/alpha/nscd-types.h
delete mode 100644 sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h
diff --git a/nscd/nscd-client.h b/nscd/nscd-client.h
index 0906de2929..33d275f898 100644
--- a/nscd/nscd-client.h
+++ b/nscd/nscd-client.h
@@ -27,10 +27,12 @@
#include <time.h>
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <atomic.h>
-#include <nscd-types.h>
#include <sys/uio.h>
+/* Type for the size of a record in the data part of a database. */
+typedef int32_t nscd_ssize_t;
+
/* Version number of the daemon interface */
#define NSCD_VERSION 2
diff --git a/sysdeps/alpha/nscd-types.h b/sysdeps/alpha/nscd-types.h
deleted file mode 100644
index 1b7ab74a41..0000000000
--- a/sysdeps/alpha/nscd-types.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-/* Types for the NSCD implementation. Alpha version.
- Copyright (c) 2000-2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
- This file is part of the GNU C Library.
-
- The GNU C Library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
- License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
-
- The GNU C Library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
- Lesser General Public License for more details.
-
- You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
- License along with the GNU C Library. If not, see
- <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. */
-
-#include <stdint.h>
-
-typedef int64_t nscd_ssize_t;
diff --git a/sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h b/sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h
deleted file mode 100644
index f196175ec3..0000000000
--- a/sysdeps/generic/nscd-types.h
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,21 +0,0 @@
-/* Types for the NSCD implementation. Generic version.
- Copyright (c) 2000-2026 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
- This file is part of the GNU C Library.
-
- The GNU C Library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
- modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
- License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
- version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
-
- The GNU C Library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
- but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
- MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU
- Lesser General Public License for more details.
-
- You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
- License along with the GNU C Library; if not, see
- <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>. */
-
-#include <stdint.h>
-
-typedef int32_t nscd_ssize_t;
--
2.55.0
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