Re: Fix memory leak in postmasterMain
Henrik TJ <henrik@0x48.dk>
From: Henrik TJ <henrik@0x48.dk>
To: PostgreSQL Hackers <pgsql-hackers@postgresql.org>
Date: 2026-04-21T14:56:32Z
Lists: pgsql-hackers
Attachments
- v2-0001-Fix-userDoption-not-getting-freed-in-postmaster.patch (text/plain) patch v2-0001
Hi
On Sat, 21 Feb 2026, Henrik TJ wrote:
> This is fairly inconsequential as memory leaks goes, but if -D is used when
> starting postgres, the memory allocated by stdrup() will never be freed.
> Found with valgrind.
Rebased version of this patch attached.
To see valgrind catch the leak:
1. Compile with valgrind.
2. Run postgres with valgrind:
valgrind --leak-check=full ./pgrun/bin/postgres -D pgdata/
The -D argument is required, as it is the argument from there that does
not get freed. This should yield:
==444240== 8 bytes in 1 blocks are definitely lost in loss record 29 of 849
==444240== at 0x4840B26: malloc (vg_replace_malloc.c:447)
==444240== by 0x5114A2E: strdup (strdup.c:42)
==444240== by 0x6B7CE0: PostmasterMain (../src/backend/postmaster/postmaster.c:656)
==444240== by 0x602555: main (../src/backend/main/main.c:231)
best regards, Henrik