Kernel Oops: is this a software problem or hardware?

adrianmariano · 12-26-2010, 07:58 AM

I'm running Debian testing. I last upgraded on or around Dec 11, which I think included a kernel update. Everything seemed to be working at that point (though I'll admit I wasn't reading the logs).

Dec 24 I started getting Kernel Oops messages. I had the entire window system freeze up so that Ctrl-Alt-Fn wouldn't switch windows, but yet remote logins were still possible. I observed a strange behavior where images in firefox (iceweasel) would display as large black boxes. And lately I've noticed that when exim4 runs I get a kernel oops message.

Now based on what I read about Kernel Oops I would think this indicates a problem with my kernel...but why would it take a couple weeks to happen after the update? I updated again yesterday but this didn't fix anything. Is this something I report as a kernel bug to somebody? Or is there some other explanation for this?

I tried using smartctl to assess my hard drive health and it claims the hard drive is fine.

Kernel in use:

Code:

ii  linux-image-2.6-686                  2.6.32+28                            Linux 2.6 for modern PCs (meta-package)
ii  linux-image-2.6.32-5-686             2.6.32-29                            Linux 2.6.32 for modern PCs
ii  linux-image-2.6.32-trunk-686         2.6.32-5                             Linux 2.6.32 for modern PCs

This is what syslog says (this one appears to be related to exim4):

Code:

Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322383] BUG: unable to handle kernel NULL pointer dereference at (null)
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322392] IP: [<c1048b9c>] groups_search+0x2c/0x4c
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322404] *pde = 00000000 
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322408] Oops: 0000 [#110] SMP 
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322413] last sysfs file: /sys/devices/virtual/sound/timer/uevent
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322418] Modules linked in: tcp_diag inet_diag acpi_cpufreq cpufreq_conservative cpufreq_powersave cpufreq_userspace cpufreq_stats ppdev lp sco bridge stp bnep rfcomm l2cap crc16 bluetooth rfkill battery dm_snapshot dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod fuse loop snd_usb_audio snd_usb_lib snd_ca0106 snd_ac97_codec snd_hwdep ac97_bus snd_pcm_oss snd_seq_midi snd_mixer_oss snd_rawmidi snd_seq_midi_event nouveau ttm snd_pcm snd_seq snd_page_alloc drm_kms_helper i2c_i801 drm uvcvideo videodev v4l1_compat snd_timer snd_seq_device evdev usbhid i2c_algo_bit snd parport_pc hid soundcore psmouse pcspkr button processor parport i2c_core usb_storage usblp serio_raw ext3 jbd mbcache sg sr_mod cdrom sd_mod crc_t10dif ata_generic pata_jmicron uhci_hcd ata_piix r8169 mii floppy libata ehci_hcd thermal thermal_sys scsi_mod usbcore nls_base [last unloaded: scsi_wait_scan]
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322527] 
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322532] Pid: 8214, comm: exim4 Tainted: G      D    (2.6.32-5-686 #1) OEM
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322537] EIP: 0060:[<c1048b9c>] EFLAGS: 00010246 CPU: 1
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322542] EIP is at groups_search+0x2c/0x4c
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322546] EAX: 00000000 EBX: 00270001 ECX: 00138000 EDX: 00000000
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322550] ESI: 00000000 EDI: f33ab480 EBP: 00000000 ESP: f4449e50
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322554]  DS: 007b ES: 007b FS: 00d8 GS: 00e0 SS: 0068
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322558] Process exim4 (pid: 8214, ti=f4448000 task=f310cc80 task.ti=f4448000)
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322562] Stack:
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322564]  f44441ed f6a1e09c 00000001 f4e31001 c10b9383 f4449ed0 f4449ed0 f6a1e09c
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322573] <0> c10b9b38 f310cc80 00000001 f4e31000 b73ea5cd 00000000 c24c007b 0000007b
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322584] <0> 00000000 f4449ed0 f4e31000 ffffff9c c10ba255 f6430600 f69c2198 00000000
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322594] Call Trace:
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322602]  [<c10b9383>] ? acl_permission_check+0x50/0x70
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322608]  [<c10b9b38>] ? __link_path_walk+0x77/0x5de
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322614]  [<c10ba255>] ? path_walk+0x4f/0xa3
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322620]  [<c10bb3d1>] ? do_path_lookup+0x1f/0x69
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322625]  [<c10bc539>] ? user_path_at+0x37/0x5f
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322632]  [<c109b62b>] ? handle_mm_fault+0x48f/0x959
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322638]  [<c10bf707>] ? d_kill+0x3e/0x43
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322645]  [<c10b5d3b>] ? vfs_fstatat+0x2a/0x50
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322651]  [<c10b5e1d>] ? vfs_stat+0x10/0x12
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322657]  [<c10b5e2e>] ? sys_stat64+0xf/0x23
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322663]  [<c126f65f>] ? do_page_fault+0x2f1/0x307
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322669]  [<c126f36e>] ? do_page_fault+0x0/0x307
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322675]  [<c10030fb>] ? sysenter_do_call+0x12/0x28
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322679] Code: 85 c0 57 89 d5 56 89 c7 53 74 39 8b 58 04 31 f6 eb 2e 8d 04 33 89 c1 c1 e8 0b 8b 84 87 8c 00 00 00 d1 e9 89 ca 81 e2 ff 03 00 00 <3b> 2c 90 76 05 8d 71 01 eb 0b 72 07 b8 01 00 00 00 eb 08 89 cb 
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322735] EIP: [<c1048b9c>] groups_search+0x2c/0x4c SS:ESP 0068:f4449e50
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322742] CR2: 0000000000000000
Dec 26 08:42:20 alpaca kernel: [43993.322747] ---[ end trace 4703438aa09fc117 ]---

The first Oops message I see in the logs:

Code:

Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910389] BUG: unable to handle kernel NUL
L pointer dereference at (null)
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910398] IP: [<f8027be9>] usb_stor_invoke_transport+0x9e/0x2b8 [usb_storage]
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910414] *pde = 619d4067 
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910419] Oops: 0000 [#2] SMP 
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910424] last sysfs file: /sys/devices/pci0000:00/0000:00:1f.2/host3/target3:0:0/3:0:0:0/block/sdb/uevent
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910429] Modules linked in: isofs udf crc_itu_t snd_seq_dummy nls_utf8 nls_cp437 vfat fat tcp_diag inet_diag acpi_cpufreq cpufreq_conservative cpufreq_powersave cpufreq_userspace cpufreq_stats battery ppdev lp sco bridge stp bnep l2cap crc16 bluetooth rfkill dm_snapshot dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log dm_mod fuse loop snd_ca0106 snd_ac97_codec ac97_bus snd_usb_audio snd_pcm_oss snd_mixer_oss snd_pcm snd_usb_lib snd_hwdep snd_seq_midi nouveau snd_rawmidi ttm snd_seq_midi_event snd_seq snd_timer snd_seq_device snd drm_kms_helper soundcore uvcvideo videodev i2c_i801 snd_page_alloc usblp v4l1_compat drm i2c_algo_bit evdev usbhid i2c_core parport_pc psmouse parport pcspkr usb_storage button processor serio_raw hid ext3 jbd mbcache sg sr_mod cdrom sd_mod crc_t10dif r8169 ata_generic uhci_hcd ata_piix mii floppy pata_jmicron thermal thermal_sys libata ehci_hcd scsi_mod usbcore nls_base [last unloaded: scsi_wait_scan]
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910549] 
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910554] Pid: 602, comm: usb-storage Tainted: G      D    (2.6.32-5-686 #1) OEM
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910559] EIP: 0060:[<f8027be9>] EFLAGS: 00010246 CPU: 1
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910569] EIP is at usb_stor_invoke_transport+0x9e/0x2b8 [usb_storage]
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910573] EAX: 00000001 EBX: f6fa2b44 ECX: 00000000 EDX: 00000001
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910577] ESI: f6fa2b44 EDI: f4d6a9c4 EBP: f64abf88 ESP: f64abf08
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910582]  DS: 007b ES: 007b FS: 00d8 GS: 00e0 SS: 0068
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910587] Process usb-storage (pid: 602, ti=f64aa000 task=f64d0000 task.ti=f64aa000)
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910590] Stack:
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910593]  f6fa2b68 00000001 c2908100 00000003 00000005 00c31980 c1279464 f64d0000
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910603] <0> 00000092 c2908100 48843c7f f64d0000 f6fa2bf8 c126c6dd f64d0000 00000001
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910613] <0> f6fa2bfc 00000001 f64d0000 c102d115 00100100 00200200 48843c7f f6fa2b44
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910625] Call Trace:
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910634]  [<c126c6dd>] ? wait_for_common+0xaf/0x100
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910642]  [<c102d115>] ? default_wake_function+0x0/0x8
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910654]  [<f80292ae>] ? usb_stor_control_thread+0x11d/0x1b3 [usb_storage]
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910661]  [<c1020635>] ? __wake_up_common+0x34/0x59
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910668]  [<c10246d3>] ? complete+0x28/0x36
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910678]  [<f8029191>] ? usb_stor_control_thread+0x0/0x1b3 [usb_storage]
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910685]  [<c10438e8>] ? kthread+0x61/0x66
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910691]  [<c1043887>] ? kthread+0x0/0x66
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910698]  [<c1003d47>] ? kernel_thread_helper+0x7/0x10
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910701] Code: 00 00 00 00 00 8a 46 49 3c 01 74 06 31 d2 3c f0 75 09 31 d2 83 7f 2c 02 0f 95 c2 8b 4f 30 b8 01 00 00 00 83 7c 24 04 01 0f 44 d0 <8a> 01 3c 85 74 04 3c a1 75 1d 83 7c 24 04 00 75 16 f7 46 20 00 
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910759] EIP: [<f8027be9>] usb_stor_invoke_transport+0x9e/0x2b8 [usb_storage] SS:ESP 0068:f64abf08
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910772] CR2: 0000000000000000
Dec 24 23:23:28 alpaca kernel: [1574830.910776] ---[ end trace 63ad8c381af792d5

markush · 12-27-2010, 05:22 AM

Hi,

as far as I understand the kernel oops, such a message reports definitely a kernelbug. So it should be analyzed or reported.

The kernel kills the process which caused the error, this may result in the the other issues you experienced (freezing of the screen etc.).

Quote:

I observed a strange behavior where images in firefox (iceweasel) would display as large black boxes

I would try to log errormessages of firefox. Look at "firefox --help" in a terminal. So you possibly find out if the kernel oops causes the problems or if there is an additional problem.

Markus

adrianmariano · 12-27-2010, 07:05 AM

So it is possible for a kernel bug to take a couple weeks to manifest? If it had started right after I installed a kernel upgrade, it would be obvious that it was a kernel bug. But the fact that it took a couple weeks to start after the last kernel update, and then seemed to be getting worse, makes me wonder if failing hardware of some sort is to blame.

markush · 12-27-2010, 07:28 AM

Well, they write that one should check the complete hardware before posting a bugreport.

Otherwise, if the problems become more and more, I'd guess that it's likely a hardwarefailure (which seems plausible as you didn't have the problems directly after installing the new kernel)

Markus

adrianmariano · 01-06-2011, 09:10 PM

I took out half my RAM and the problem has not yet recurred. Is this conclusive? (I should just get new RAM?)

(I was going to try swapping the "bad" RAM back in and removing the "good" RAM...but I got lazy. The other stick is blocked in by a card so I have to work much harder to get it out...)

markush · 01-07-2011, 02:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by adrianmariano

I took out half my RAM and the problem has not yet recurred. Is this conclusive? (I should just get new RAM?)...

mh, I think it is a Ram-problem and no issue for a bugreport.

Markus

H_TeXMeX_H · 01-07-2011, 01:05 PM

Use memtest to test the RAM, if it is bad, then it is not a bug.