Core dump files being generated by rssposter.php

[Pottsy]

I have a problem.

Having had my disk space eaten up by core.nnnn files, I thought I'd investigate. It turns out that the 16Mb files are php ones made by rssposter.php whenever that script tries to read a feed that doesn't exist anymore.

I can reproduce it. In AdminCP / RSS Feeds / Add new RSS feed:

1. Make a new feed and enter an invalid feed address such as http://feeds.feedburner.com/autotraderUK
2. Press "Preview".
3. Vb gives the error: XML Error: not well-formed (invalid token) at Line 60
4. There is a new 16Mb core file in my /forum folder.

Apache: 1.3.39 (cgi)
PHP: 4.4.8 (cgi)
MySQL: 4.1.22-standard

Any help would be appreciated. I know for the time being I can just delete invalid feeds - but if a feed goes invalid on me the first I find out about it is when the forum goes down because I am out of disk space.

[Jake Bunce]

Core files can be produced when PHP or Apache crashes. You should contact your host about this.

That feed isn't working because the feed itself is returning an error.

[Pottsy]

Jake, I know. My host has spent quite a while rebuilding php to try and stop this.

As I mentioned, it was php crashing, and I acknowledge that it was a feed that had become invalid. I was just wondering if anyone else had suffered from the same problem (and had found a solution) since it is the rssposter.php script that is triggering the crash. That way I may be able to assist the host.

[Jose Amaral Rego]

I never figure what cause mine, but I had over fifty rss bots posting(test) to see if I can break vBulletin. I never associated several files 80 to 160mb core dump files to rssposter.php.

I am going to test your method to reproduce this, as I was at a lost into why I got all those files. I am off to create at least 20 feedburns and see if I get same.

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=249403

[Jose Amaral Rego]

I can confirm that if you get that error, you then recieve a core dump file. I enter it once, then recieve a cdf and enter it 4 more time and total of 5 files appeared.

Can someone else confirm this, as I am on a shared Hosting and wonder what if you are on VSP or DED.

It happens in 3.7 Beta if anyone wants to know..

[Pottsy]

Jose, thanks for confirming this. I used that link because it is invalid, to force the error and get the core dump file.

Jake - although you can rightly blame php for crashing when running your script, would it be good programming manners to try and rectify this?

[Jake Bunce]

There is nothing that vBulletin can do about the generation of core files by PHP and Apache. vBulletin doesn't produce those files.

[Pottsy]

We know that php creates them when it crashes. But there is one tiny bit of code in vbulletin that makes php crash. Given that my host has spent days pulling his hair out rebuilding php to try and stop this, I was just hoping that vb could possibly change the code in rssposter to stop php from failing.

[Jake Bunce]

If you post a bug report then the devs will investigate the possibility of a code problem that is causing this:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/proje...ssuetypeid=bug

[Pottsy]

Thanks Jake. The bug report is here:

http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/proje...?issueid=24425