Microsoft KB Archive/917904

= FIX: The shell script does not run successfully, and a memory leak occurs when you run a shell script that uses the #! command in Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 =

Article ID: 917904

Article Last Modified on 11/15/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (32-bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition (32-Bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (32-Bit x86)
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard x64 Edition
 * Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX 3.5

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SYMPTOMS
Consider the following scenario:
 * You are running Microsoft Windows Services for UNIX 3.5. Or, you are running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 together with Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA).
 * You run a shell script that uses the #! command to specify the command interpreter.

In this scenario, the shell script does not run successfully. For example, the find command fails when you call the find command together with the -exec option.

Additionally, a memory leak occurs, and you receive the following error message:

Resource temporarily unavailable.

This problem may also occur when the shell script contains other commands that call the vfork function together with the -exec option.



CAUSE
This problem occurs because the shell script uses the #! command. The #! command reduces the available system memory by approximately 1 megabyte (MB) for each execution. This memory is never freed, and an out-of-memory condition occurs.



Service pack information
To resolve this problem, obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003 R2. For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

889100 How to obtain the latest service pack for Windows Server 2003

Hotfix information
A supported hotfix is now available from Microsoft. However, this hotfix is intended to correct only the problem that is described in this article. Apply this hotfix only to systems that are experiencing this specific problem. This hotfix might receive additional testing. Therefore, if you are not severely affected by this problem, we recommend that you wait for the next service pack that contains this hotfix.

To resolve this problem, submit a request to Microsoft Online Customer Services to obtain the hotfix. To submit an online request to obtain the hotfix, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://go.microsoft.com/?linkid=6294451

Note If additional issues occur or any troubleshooting is required, you might have to create a separate service request. The usual support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for this specific hotfix. To create a separate service request, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://support.microsoft.com/contactus/?ws=support

Prerequisites
The following list contains the prerequisites for the hotfix:
 * Windows Services for UNIX 3.5 together with the Interix subsystem
 * Windows Server 2003 R2 together with Subsystem for UNIX-based Applications (SUA)

For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/r2/unixinterop/default.mspx

Restart requirement
You must restart the computer after you apply this hotfix.

Hotfix replacement information
This hotfix does not replace any other hotfix.

File information
The English version of this hotfix has the file attributes (or later file attributes) that are listed in the following table. The dates and times for these files are listed in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). When you view the file information, it is converted to local time. To find the difference between UTC and local time, use the Time Zone tab in the Date and Time item in Control Panel.

Windows Server 2003, x64-based versions


WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, you must run the shell script by passing the path of the shell script to the command interpreter directly. You must do this instead of running the shell script by relying on the parsing mechanism of the interpreter. For example, the following command shows you how to pass the path of the shell script:

find /tmp -exec /bin/sh test.sh {} \;

Therefore, a different code path is called, and the memory leak is reduced.



STATUS
Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the &quot;Applies to&quot; section. This problem was first corrected in Windows Server 2003 R2 Service Pack 2.



MORE INFORMATION
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

824684 Description of the standard terminology that is used to describe Microsoft software updates

Keywords: kbbug kbfix kbhotfixserver kbqfe kbpubtypekc KB917904

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