Runtime double free occurs when using system-installed boost_filesystem without specifying shared libraries

[Doekin]

Xmake Version

xmake v2.9.8+20250204

Operating System Version and Architecture

Arch Linux

Describe Bug

This issue occurs when using the system-installed boost libraries. If boost is built from source via XMake, this issue does not occur because XMake automatically defines BOOST_ALL_DYN_LINK when building shared libraries. However, with system-installed shared boost libraries, if BOOST_FILESYSTEM_DYN_LINK=1 (or BOOST_ALL_DYN_LINK) is not defined, it results in a runtime error: free(): double free detected in tcache 2.

When using system-installed boost_filesystem via:

add_requires("boost", {configs = {filesystem = true}})

a runtime double free error occurs. The error message is:

free(): double free detected in tcache 2

However, if we specify boost as a shared library with:

add_requires("boost", {configs = {shared = true, filesystem = true}})

the issue disappears.

Expected Behavior

If system-installed shared boost libraries are being used, XMake should automatically define BOOST_FILESYSTEM_DYN_LINK=1 (or BOOST_ALL_DYN_LINK).

Project Configuration

xrepo install boostdep

Additional Information and Error Logs

free(): double free detected in tcache 2

[waruqi]

This seems to be a boost issue. Alternatively, you can define BOOST_FILESYSTEM_DYN_LINK yourself via add_cxflags

[Doekin]

Thank you for the suggestion! However, when using xrepo to install packages like xrepo install boostdep, this isn't feasible.

[Doekin]

Apologies, I misidentified the cause of this issue. The problem is not related to the absence of the BOOST_FILESYSTEM_DYN_LINK=1 macro.

The issue occurs when we use system-installed boost like this:

add_requires("boost", {configs = {filesystem = true}})

However, if we explicitly specify shared boost, the issue disappears:

add_requires("boost", {configs = {shared = true, filesystem = true}})

The difference seems to be that additional libraries are linked when using the static version. For example, here are the compile commands for both cases:

With add_requires("boost", {configs = {filesystem = true}}):

/usr/bin/gcc -c -m64 -fvisibility=hidden -fvisibility-inlines-hidden -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -O3 -DNDEBUG -o build/.objs/boost_fs/linux/x86_64/release/src/boost_fs.cpp.o src/boost_fs.cpp
/usr/bin/g++ -o build/linux/x86_64/release/boost_fs build/.objs/boost_fs/linux/x86_64/release/src/boost_fs.cpp.o -m64 -L/usr/lib -s -lpython3 -lboost_wave -lboost_url -lboost_type_erasure -lboost_timer -lboost_prg_exec_monitor -lboost_unit_test_framework -lboost_test_exec_monitor -lboost_stacktrace_noop -lboost_stacktrace_addr2line -lboost_stacktrace_basic -lboost_program_options -lboost_process -lboost_nowide -lboost_log -lboost_log_setup -lboost_locale -lboost_json -lboost_iostreams -lboost_graph_parallel -lboost_mpi -lboost_python313 -lboost_numpy313 -lboost_graph -lboost_wserialization -lboost_serialization -lboost_regex -lboost_random -lboost_fiber -lboost_filesystem -lboost_coroutine -lboost_contract -lboost_thread -lboost_date_time -lboost_exception -lboost_cobalt -lboost_context -lboost_container -lboost_chrono -lboost_system -lboost_charconv -lboost_atomic

With add_requires("boost", {configs = {shared = true, filesystem = true}}):

/usr/bin/gcc -c -m64 -fvisibility=hidden -fvisibility-inlines-hidden -Wall -Wextra -Wpedantic -O3 -DNDEBUG -o build/.objs/boost_fs/linux/x86_64/release/src/boost_fs.cpp.o src/boost_fs.cpp
/usr/bin/g++ -o build/linux/x86_64/release/boost_fs build/.objs/boost_fs/linux/x86_64/release/src/boost_fs.cpp.o -m64 -L/usr/lib -s -lpython3 -lboost_wave -lboost_url -lboost_type_erasure -lboost_timer -lboost_prg_exec_monitor -lboost_unit_test_framework -lboost_stacktrace_noop -lboost_stacktrace_addr2line -lboost_stacktrace_basic -lboost_program_options -lboost_process -lboost_nowide -lboost_log -lboost_log_setup -lboost_locale -lboost_json -lboost_iostreams -lboost_graph_parallel -lboost_mpi -lboost_python313 -lboost_numpy313 -lboost_graph -lboost_wserialization -lboost_serialization -lboost_regex -lboost_random -lboost_fiber -lboost_filesystem -lboost_coroutine -lboost_contract -lboost_thread -lboost_date_time -lboost_cobalt -lboost_context -lboost_container -lboost_chrono -lboost_system -lboost_charconv -lboost_atomic

It seems that in the static version, additional libraries like boost_test_exec_monitor and boost_exception are linked.

[Doekin]

I’ve discovered some additional information regarding this issue:

Arch Linux provides both static and shared libraries for most boost modules. However, there are exceptions: libboost_test_exec_monitor and libboost_exception are only available as static libraries.

Given that shared libraries generally take priority during linking, it’s possible that the issue arises from mixing these static libraries (boost_test_exec_monitor and boost_exception) with other shared boost libraries.