Thanks for the bug report. Unfortunately, that stack trace is not very useful in determining the cause of the crash. Can you get us one with debugging symbols? Please see http://live.gnome.org/GettingTraces for more information on how to do so.

I thought that's what I gave you. I installed the debuginfo package for nautilus:

[root@castle ~]# rpm -qa|grep nautilus
nautilus-debuginfo-2.10.0-4
nautilus-2.10.0-4

and as far as I can tell, I followed the instructions on that wiki page (http://live.gnome.org/GettingTraces). From the gdb output I included above, it looks like all the symbols are being loaded. If there is something else I neeed to do, please let me know what it is. I am not an experienced Linux developer and am not familiar with the GNU tool chain, so I have no idea what you're looking for.

Also, the process is still running (when I said it was dead, I meant it was not responding to GUI events). If I have to kill it, I need someone to tell me how (as I asked already above).

The only difference I can see between what I did and the wiki instructions is that I attached gdb to an already running process instead of starting the process from gdb. Are you telling me it is not possible to get the information you need from an already running process if it was not started from gdb?

Maybe this bug is related to bug 322935.

Phil, can you try if you can reproduce it using gnome-vfs from CVS?

I'm sorry. I figured out that I needed to install more than just the nautilus debuginfo packages. I installed more debuginfo packages and got a more detailed backtrace, then posted the backtrace to a different bug (bug 312943):

(I had problems installing the right glibc debuginfo packages)
=========
[root@castle ~]$ rpm -qa|grep debuginfo
nautilus-debuginfo-2.10.0-4
glibc-debuginfo-common-2.3.5-10
glib2-debuginfo-2.6.6-1
glibc-debuginfo-2.3.5-10
gedit-debuginfo-2.10.2-4
gnome-vfs2-debuginfo-2.10.0-5
kernel-debuginfo-2.6.14-1.1656_FC4

[root@castle FC4]# gdb nautilus 2667
GNU gdb Red Hat Linux (6.3.0.0-1.84rh)
Copyright 2004 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
GDB is free software, covered by the GNU General Public License, and you are
welcome to change it and/or distribute copies of it under certain conditions.
Type "show copying" to see the conditions.
There is absolutely no warranty for GDB.  Type "show warranty" for details.
This GDB was configured as "i386-redhat-linux-gnu"...Using host libthread_db
library "/lib/libthread_db.so.1".

Attaching to program: /usr/bin/nautilus, process 2667
Reading symbols from shared object read from target memory...done.
Loaded system supplied DSO at 0xccf000
`shared object read from target memory' has disappeared; keeping its symbols.
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libnautilus-private.so.2...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libnautilus-private.so.2.0.0.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libnautilus-private.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libnautilus-extension.so.1...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libnautilus-extension.so.1.0.0.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libnautilus-extension.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libeel-2.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libeel-2.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgailutil.so.17...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgailutil.so.17
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libglade-2.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libglade-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/librsvg-2.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/librsvg-2.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libesd.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libesd.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libaudiofile.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libaudiofile.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnome-desktop-2.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnome-desktop-2.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnomeui-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnomeui-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libSM.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libSM.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libICE.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libICE.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libbonoboui-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libbonoboui-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libxml2.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libxml2.so.2
Reading symbols from /lib/libpthread.so.0...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libpthread-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match
"/lib/libpthread.so.0" (CRC mismatch).

done.
[Thread debugging using libthread_db enabled]
[New Thread -1208469024 (LWP 2667)]
[New Thread -1223955536 (LWP 322)]
[New Thread -1212359760 (LWP 2741)]
[New Thread -1212093520 (LWP 2740)]
[New Thread -1211827280 (LWP 2739)]
[New Thread -1211561040 (LWP 2738)]
[New Thread -1211294800 (LWP 2737)]
[New Thread -1211028560 (LWP 2736)]
[New Thread -1210762320 (LWP 2685)]
Loaded symbols for /lib/libpthread.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libz.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libz.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnomecanvas-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnomecanvas-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnome-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnome-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libart_lgpl_2.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libart_lgpl_2.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpangoft2-1.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpangoft2-1.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libatk-1.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libatk-1.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpangoxft-1.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpangoxft-1.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpangox-1.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpangox-1.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpango-1.0.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpango-1.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgobject-2.0.so.0...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libgobject-2.0.so.0.600.6.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgobject-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnomevfs-2.so.0...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libgnomevfs-2.so.0.1000.0.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnomevfs-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libbonobo-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libbonobo-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgconf-2.so.4...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgconf-2.so.4
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libbonobo-activation.so.4...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libbonobo-activation.so.4
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libORBit-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libORBit-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgmodule-2.0.so.0...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libgmodule-2.0.so.0.600.6.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgmodule-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /lib/libdl.so.2...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libdl-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match "/lib/libdl.so.2"
(CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libdl.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgthread-2.0.so.0...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libgthread-2.0.so.0.600.6.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgthread-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libglib-2.0.so.0...Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/libglib-2.0.so.0.600.6.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libglib-2.0.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libstartup-notification-1.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libstartup-notification-1.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libX11.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libexif.so.12...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libexif.so.12
Reading symbols from /lib/libm.so.6...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libm-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match "/lib/libm.so.6" (CRC
mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libm.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpopt.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpopt.so.0
Reading symbols from /lib/libc.so.6...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libc-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match "/lib/libc.so.6" (CRC
mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libc.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnome-menu.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnome-menu.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXrender.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXrender.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXext.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXext.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgsf-1.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgsf-1.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libcroco-0.6.so.3...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libcroco-0.6.so.3
Reading symbols from /lib/libasound.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libasound.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnome-keyring.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnome-keyring.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libjpeg.so.62...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libjpeg.so.62
Reading symbols from /lib/ld-linux.so.2...
warning: the debug information found in "/usr/lib/debug//lib/ld-2.3.5.so.debug"
does not match "/lib/ld-linux.so.2" (CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/ld-linux.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libfontconfig.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libfontconfig.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libfreetype.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXrandr.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXrandr.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXi.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXi.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXinerama.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXinerama.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXft.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXft.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXfixes.so.3...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXfixes.so.3
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXcursor.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXcursor.so.1
Reading symbols from /lib/libssl.so.5...done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libssl.so.5
Reading symbols from /lib/libcrypto.so.5...done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libcrypto.so.5
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgssapi_krb5.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgssapi_krb5.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libkrb5.so.3...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libkrb5.so.3
Reading symbols from /lib/libcom_err.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libcom_err.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libk5crypto.so.3...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libk5crypto.so.3
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libhowl.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libhowl.so.0
Reading symbols from /lib/libresolv.so.2...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libresolv-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match
"/lib/libresolv.so.2" (CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libresolv.so.2
Reading symbols from /lib/librt.so.1...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/librt-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match "/lib/librt.so.1"
(CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/librt.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libORBitCosNaming-2.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libORBitCosNaming-2.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libbz2.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libbz2.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libexpat.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libexpat.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libkrb5support.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libkrb5support.so.0
Reading symbols from /lib/libnss_files.so.2...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libnss_files-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match
"/lib/libnss_files.so.2" (CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libnss_files.so.2
Reading symbols from
/usr/X11R6/lib/X11/locale/lib/common/xlcUTF8Load.so.2...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/locale/lib/common/xlcUTF8Load.so.2
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/gconv/ISO8859-1.so...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//usr/lib/gconv/ISO8859-1.so.debug" does not match
"/usr/lib/gconv/ISO8859-1.so" (CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/gconv/ISO8859-1.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.4.0/engines/libclearlooks.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.4.0/engines/libclearlooks.so
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.4.0/loaders/libpixbufloader-png.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/gtk-2.0/2.4.0/loaders/libpixbufloader-png.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpng12.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpng12.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/gnome-vfs-2.0/modules/libfile.so...Reading
symbols from
/usr/lib/debug/usr/lib/gnome-vfs-2.0/modules/libfile.so.debug...done.
done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/gnome-vfs-2.0/modules/libfile.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libfam.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libfam.so.0
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-burn-extension.so...done.
Loaded symbols for
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-burn-extension.so
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libtotem-properties-page.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libtotem-properties-page.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libnautilus-burn.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libnautilus-burn.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXtst.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXtst.so.6
Reading symbols from /usr/X11R6/lib/libXxf86vm.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/X11R6/lib/libXxf86vm.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgstgconf-0.8.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgstgconf-0.8.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgstinterfaces-0.8.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgstinterfaces-0.8.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgstreamer-0.8.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgstreamer-0.8.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libhal.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libhal.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libdbus-1.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libdbus-1.so.1
Reading symbols from /lib/libnsl.so.1...
warning: the debug information found in
"/usr/lib/debug//lib/libnsl-2.3.5.so.debug" does not match "/lib/libnsl.so.1"
(CRC mismatch).

done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libnsl.so.1
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libevince-properties-page.so...done.
Loaded symbols for
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libevince-properties-page.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpoppler-glib.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpoppler-glib.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libpoppler.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libpoppler.so.0
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libtiff.so.3...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libtiff.so.3
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libstdc++.so.6
Reading symbols from /lib/libgcc_s.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /lib/libgcc_s.so.1
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-themus.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-themus.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libgnome-window-settings.so.1...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libgnome-window-settings.so.1
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/libmetacity-private.so.0...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/libmetacity-private.so.0
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-fileroller.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-fileroller.so
Reading symbols from
/usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-fontilus.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/nautilus/extensions-1.0/libnautilus-fontilus.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/gnome-vfs-2.0/modules/libmapping.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/gnome-vfs-2.0/modules/libmapping.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/pango/1.4.0/modules/pango-basic-fc.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/pango/1.4.0/modules/pango-basic-fc.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/pango/1.4.0/modules/pango-arabic-fc.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/pango/1.4.0/modules/pango-arabic-fc.so
Reading symbols from /usr/lib/pango/1.4.0/modules/pango-hangul-fc.so...done.
Loaded symbols for /usr/lib/pango/1.4.0/modules/pango-hangul-fc.so
0x00ccf402 in __kernel_vsyscall ()
(gdb) thread apply all bt

+ Trace 65892

I've also dumped the process to a file using gcore, if that would be useful.

I am a bit leery about building from CVS because I've had bad experiences with library dependencies when building gnome stuff from source. Let me know if the new backtrace is still not enough, and I will consider building from CVS.

I've looked at bug 322935, and cannot tell if it is related to my problem or not. I am not a gnome developer. It appears bug 322935 is simply a warning about leaving idle threads around. It does not describe any observable consequences, so I cannot tell if it explains what I am seeing.

Is 9 threads a large number of threads?

I will say that thread 3 stack frame #8 looks suspicious because the file name is out of bounds, but what do I know? This also makes me suspect that maybe this could be a duplicate of Bug 312943 (crash while detecting MIME type).
(if this is true, then maybe I really did not make a mistake posting the above trace to that bug report :D )

Phil, it's most likely related to bug 170947.

Looking at gnome_vfs_mime_type_from_name_or_default() (containing
gnome-vfs-mime.c:119), I think I follow the logic, but what is the purpose (and
effect) of declaring a character pointer const (const char *separator), and
then writing to it? This variable is what appears to contain the out of bounds
value being passed to _gnome_vfs_xdg_get_mime_type_from_file_name().

gnome_vfs_mime_type_from_name_or_default() does wrap the call to xdg_mime_get_mime_type_from_file_name() with G_LOCK/G_UNLOCK(mime_mutex), so it doesn't appear that bug 170947 applies.

Considering the rarity of this crash on my system (about 4 weeks from the latest to the previous), it does seem like this could be some kind of mutual exclusion problem, but that's coming from my experience as an embedded microprocessor application developer, not as a *nix developer.

I lost the nautilus process, or I would see if I could figure out how to look at the value of pointer separator in gnome_vfs_mime_type_from_name_or_default(), to see if it was corrupted before being passed to the xdg_mime function, or if the value in the xdg_mime function's stack frame was corrupted after the call.

I have a core image of the nautilus (created with gcore), but I don't know how to get gdb to work with the core file (it won't do a backtrace, for example - it says it can't access memory).

Rethinking the bug 170947 connection, I guess it could still apply if there are any other xdg_mime calls that aren't protected, even if it is protected in gnome_vfs_mime_type_from_name_or_default(). I'll see if I can find any unprotected calls, but I can promise reliable results, since I'm not even sure where or how to look. I don't know if I have the entire source tree, for example.

I am still confused about the use of the const qualifier. Why are the string pointers in gnome_vfs_mime_type_from_name_or_default() declared const?

My understanding is that a const variable can't be changed (read-only) and that it only makes sense to use the const qualifier if you also initialize the variable. The compilers I've worked with place const variables in static memory to conserve stack space. With those compilers, using a const as a writable variable would be a disaster in a multi-threaded (with shared memory) application. What does gcc do with const variables?

Please disregard the last comment - I was confused about the semantics of pointer declarations. Sorry.

There are several unprotected calls to the xdg_mime functions in my version of gnome-vfs, so it looks like this is likely to be a duplicate of bug 170947.

Good! Closing as per last comment.

Phil, feel free to reopen the bug if it happens again.

*** This bug has been marked as a duplicate of 170947 ***