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Bug
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Resolution: Done-Errata
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Normal
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rhel-9.3.0
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None
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make-4.3-8.el9
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Yes
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Moderate
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Regression
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rhel-sst-pt-libraries
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ssg_platform_tools
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23
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24
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1
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False
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Yes
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Red Hat Enterprise Linux
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None
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Bug Fix
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Done
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All
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None
What were you trying to do that didn't work?
When PATH is set in make to execute local binaries (PATH=.:/usr/bin:...) and a install directory exists in current directory, make tries to execute the directory instead of install, which usually resides in /usr/bin:
$ cat Makefile export PATH := .:$(PATH) .PHONY: all all: echo $(PATH) install --help $ make all echo .:/root/.local/bin:/root/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin .:/root/.local/bin:/root/bin:/usr/local/sbin:/usr/local/bin:/usr/sbin:/usr/bin install --help make: install: Permission denied make: *** [Makefile:5: all] Error 127
The root cause for this is child_execute_job() function, which was very simplistic on RHEL8, is now calling find_in_given_path() (guile project) to resolve the binary, but find_in_given_path() itself is buggy, since it considers every inode having eXecution access, not only files or symlinks resolving as files (line 211):
74 const char * 75 find_in_given_path (const char *progname, const char *path, 76 bool optimize_for_exec) 77 { : 207 /* On systems which have the eaccess() system call, let's 208 use it. On other systems, let's hope that this program 209 is not installed setuid or setgid, so that it is ok to 210 call access() despite its design flaw. */ 211 if (eaccess (progpathname, X_OK) == 0) 212 { 213 /* Found! */ 214 if (strcmp (progpathname, progname) == 0) 215 { : 228 } : 230 free (path_copy); 231 return progpathname; 232 } :
This breaks customers projects, since customers then have to modify all occurrences of install into /usr/bin/install to avoid the issue.
Please provide the package NVR for which bug is seen:
make-4.3-7.el9
How reproducible:
Always
Steps to reproduce
- Create a dummy Makefile
$ cat Makefile export PATH := .:$(PATH) .PHONY: all all: echo $(PATH) install --help
- Create a install directory in current directory
$ mkdir install
- Execute make all
Expected results
/usr/bin/install usage displayed
Actual results
Permission denied message
- links to
-
RHBA-2024:127395
make update
- mentioned on
[RHEL-22829] make tries to execute a "install" directory instead of "install" binary
DJ Delorie
added a comment - One comment is the inconsistency of "the `make`" vs "`make`" (I prefer the second). Another is the phrase "check if the install was executable". Given the popular meaning of "the install" I would suggest an alternate text. Also, the problem is not specific to the word "install" - it applies to any program `make` is trying to execute.
Suggestion:
Previously,`make` did not check if an executable it was trying to run was actually an executable. Consequently, if the path included a directory with the same name as the executable, `make` tries to run the directory instead. With this update, `make` now does additional checks when searching for an executable.
DJ Delorie
added a comment - One comment is the inconsistency of "the `make`" vs "`make`" (I prefer the second). Another is the phrase "check if the install was executable". Given the popular meaning of "the install" I would suggest an alternate text. Also, the problem is not specific to the word "install" - it applies to any program `make` is trying to execute.
Suggestion:
Previously,`make` did not check if an executable it was trying to run was actually an executable. Consequently, if the path included a directory with the same name as the executable, `make` tries to run the directory instead. With this update, `make` now does additional checks when searching for an executable. HI rhn-engineering-dj, I have updated the docs text field can you provide me with SME review?
Michal Kolar
added a comment - Reproduced with make-4.3-7.el9 and verified with make-4.3-8.el9. 
gitlab-bot
added a comment - DJ Delorie mentioned this issue in a merge request of Red Hat / centos-stream / rpms / make on branch dj-c9s-rhel22829:
Don't try to execute directories (
RHEL-22829)
gitlab-bot
added a comment - DJ Delorie mentioned this issue in a merge request of Red Hat / centos-stream / rpms / make on branch dj-c9s-rhel22829 : Don't try to execute directories ( RHEL-22829 ) 
Florian Weimer
added a comment - Workaround is to add this to Makefile :
SHELL = /usr/bin/sh
Florian Weimer
added a comment - Fixed in this gnulib commit:
commit 6e6abd0cdfe4bb96f6412aebc511f10bf254a820
Author: Bruno Haible <bruno@clisp.org>
Date: Sat May 23 12:19:34 2020 +0200
findprog-in: Ignore directories.
Reported by Frederick Eaton via Dmitry Goncharov in
<https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnulib/2020-03/msg00003.html>.
* lib/findprog-in.c (find_in_given_path): When the file found is a
directory, set errno to EACCES and, during a PATH search, continue
searching.
* modules/findprog-in (Depends-on): Add sys_stat, stat.
Florian Weimer
added a comment - Fixed in this gnulib commit:
commit 6e6abd0cdfe4bb96f6412aebc511f10bf254a820
Author: Bruno Haible <bruno@clisp.org>
Date: Sat May 23 12:19:34 2020 +0200
findprog-in: Ignore directories.
Reported by Frederick Eaton via Dmitry Goncharov in
<https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnulib/2020-03/msg00003.html>.
* lib/findprog-in.c (find_in_given_path): When the file found is a
directory, set errno to EACCES and, during a PATH search, continue
searching.
* modules/findprog-in (Depends-on): Add sys_stat, stat.
Since the problem described in this issue should be resolved in a recent advisory, it has been closed.
For information on the advisory (make bug fix and enhancement update), and where to find the updated files, follow the link below.
If the solution does not work for you, open a new bug report.
https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHBA-2024:2492