path: root/docs/BUGS.md

# BUGS

## There are still bugs

 Curl and libcurl keep being developed. Adding features and changing code
 means that bugs will sneak in, no matter how hard we try to keep them out.

 Of course there are lots of bugs left. And lots of misfeatures.

 To help us make curl the stable and solid product we want it to be, we need
 bug reports and bug fixes.

## Where to report

 If you cannot fix a bug yourself and submit a fix for it, try to report an as
 detailed report as possible to a curl mailing list to allow one of us to have
 a go at a solution. You can optionally also submit your problem in [curl's
 bug tracking system](https://github.com/curl/curl/issues).

 Please read the rest of this document below first before doing that.

 If you feel you need to ask around first, find a suitable [mailing list](
 https://curl.se/mail/) and post your questions there.

## Security bugs

 If you find a bug or problem in curl or libcurl that you think has a security
 impact, for example a bug that can put users in danger or make them
 vulnerable if the bug becomes public knowledge, then please report that bug
 using our security development process.

 Security related bugs or bugs that are suspected to have a security impact,
 should be reported on the [curl security tracker at
 HackerOne](https://hackerone.com/curl).

 This ensures that the report reaches the curl security team so that they
 first can deal with the report away from the public to minimize the harm
 and impact it will have on existing users out there who might be using the
 vulnerable versions.

 The curl project's process for handling security related issues is
 [documented separately](https://curl.se/dev/secprocess.html).

## What to report

 When reporting a bug, you should include all information that will help us
 understand what is wrong, what you expected to happen and how to repeat the
 bad behavior. You therefore need to tell us:

 - your operating system's name and version number

 - what version of curl you are using (`curl -V` is fine)

 - versions of the used libraries that libcurl is built to use

 - what URL you were working with (if possible), at least which protocol

 and anything and everything else you think matters. Tell us what you expected
 to happen, tell use what did happen, tell us how you could make it work
 another way. Dig around, try out, test. Then include all the tiny bits and
 pieces in your report. You will benefit from this yourself, as it will enable
 us to help you quicker and more accurately.

 Since curl deals with networks, it often helps us if you include a protocol
 debug dump with your bug report. The output you get by using the `-v` or
 `--trace` options.

 If curl crashed, causing a core dump (in Unix), there is hardly any use to
 send that huge file to anyone of us. Unless we have the same system setup as
 you, we cannot do much with it. Instead, we ask you to get a stack trace and
 send that (much smaller) output to us instead.

 The address and how to subscribe to the mailing lists are detailed in the
 `MANUAL.md` file.

## libcurl problems

 When you have written your own application with libcurl to perform transfers,
 it is even more important to be specific and detailed when reporting bugs.

 Tell us the libcurl version and your operating system. Tell us the name and
 version of all relevant sub-components like for example the SSL library
 you are using and what name resolving your libcurl uses. If you use SFTP or
 SCP, the libssh2 version is relevant etc.

 Showing us a real source code example repeating your problem is the best way
 to get our attention and it will greatly increase our chances to understand
 your problem and to work on a fix (if we agree it truly is a problem).

 Lots of problems that appear to be libcurl problems are actually just abuses
 of the libcurl API or other malfunctions in your applications. It is advised
 that you run your problematic program using a memory debug tool like valgrind
 or similar before you post memory-related or "crashing" problems to us.

## Who will fix the problems

 If the problems or bugs you describe are considered to be bugs, we want to
 have the problems fixed.

 There are no developers in the curl project that are paid to work on bugs.
 All developers that take on reported bugs do this on a voluntary basis. We do
 it out of an ambition to keep curl and libcurl excellent products and out of
 pride.

 Please do not assume that you can just lump over something to us and it will
 then magically be fixed after some given time. Most often we need feedback
 and help to understand what you have experienced and how to repeat a
 problem. Then we may only be able to assist YOU to debug the problem and to
 track down the proper fix.

 We get reports from many people every month and each report can take a
 considerable amount of time to really go to the bottom with.

## How to get a stack trace

 First, you must make sure that you compile all sources with `-g` and that you
 do not 'strip' the final executable. Try to avoid optimizing the code as well,
 remove `-O`, `-O2` etc from the compiler options.

 Run the program until it cores.

 Run your debugger on the core file, like `<debugger> curl
 core`. `<debugger>` should be replaced with the name of your debugger, in
 most cases that will be `gdb`, but `dbx` and others also occur.

 When the debugger has finished loading the core file and presents you a
 prompt, enter `where` (without quotes) and press return.

 The list that is presented is the stack trace. If everything worked, it is
 supposed to contain the chain of functions that were called when curl
 crashed. Include the stack trace with your detailed bug report, it will help a
 lot.

## Bugs in libcurl bindings

 There will of course pop up bugs in libcurl bindings. You should then
 primarily approach the team that works on that particular binding and see
 what you can do to help them fix the problem.

 If you suspect that the problem exists in the underlying libcurl, then please
 convert your program over to plain C and follow the steps outlined above.

## Bugs in old versions

 The curl project typically releases new versions every other month, and we
 fix several hundred bugs per year. For a huge table of releases, number of
 bug fixes and more, see: https://curl.se/docs/releases.html

 The developers in the curl project do not have bandwidth or energy enough to
 maintain several branches or to spend much time on hunting down problems in
 old versions when chances are we already fixed them or at least that they have
 changed nature and appearance in later versions.

 When you experience a problem and want to report it, you really SHOULD
 include the version number of the curl you are using when you experience the
 issue. If that version number shows us that you are using an out-of-date curl,
 you should also try out a modern curl version to see if the problem persists
 or how/if it has changed in appearance.

 Even if you cannot immediately upgrade your application/system to run the
 latest curl version, you can most often at least run a test version or
 experimental build or similar, to get this confirmed or not.

 At times people insist that they cannot upgrade to a modern curl version, but
 instead, they "just want the bug fixed". That is fine, just do not count on us
 spending many cycles on trying to identify which single commit, if that is
 even possible, that at some point in the past fixed the problem you are now
 experiencing.

 Security wise, it is almost always a bad idea to lag behind the current curl
 versions by a lot. We keep discovering and reporting security problems
 over time see you can see in [this
 table](https://curl.se/docs/vulnerabilities.html)

# Bug fixing procedure

## What happens on first filing

 When a new issue is posted in the issue tracker or on the mailing list, the
 team of developers first needs to see the report. Maybe they took the day off,
 maybe they are off in the woods hunting. Have patience. Allow at least a few
 days before expecting someone to have responded.

 In the issue tracker, you can expect that some labels will be set on the issue
 to help categorize it.

## First response

 If your issue/bug report was not perfect at once (and few are), chances are
 that someone will ask follow-up questions. Which version did you use? Which
 options did you use? How often does the problem occur? How can we reproduce
 this problem? Which protocols does it involve? Or perhaps much more specific
 and deep diving questions. It all depends on your specific issue.

 You should then respond to these follow-up questions and provide more info
 about the problem, so that we can help you figure it out. Or maybe you can
 help us figure it out. An active back-and-forth communication is important
 and the key for finding a cure and landing a fix.

## Not reproducible

 We may require further work from you who actually see or experience the 
 problem if we cannot reproduce it and cannot understand it even after having
 gotten all the info we need and having studied the source code over again.

## Unresponsive

 If the problem have not been understood or reproduced, and there is nobody
 responding to follow-up questions or questions asking for clarifications or
 for discussing possible ways to move forward with the task, we take that as a
 strong suggestion that the bug is unimportant.

 Unimportant issues will be closed as inactive sooner or later as they cannot
 be fixed. The inactivity period (waiting for responses) should not be shorter
 than two weeks but may extend months.

## Lack of time/interest

 Bugs that are filed and are understood can unfortunately end up in the
 "nobody cares enough about it to work on it" category. Such bugs are
 perfectly valid problems that *should* get fixed but apparently are not. We
 try to mark such bugs as `KNOWN_BUGS material` after a time of inactivity and
 if no activity is noticed after yet some time those bugs are added to the
 `KNOWN_BUGS` document and are closed in the issue tracker.

## `KNOWN_BUGS`

 This is a list of known bugs. Bugs we know exist and that have been pointed
 out but that have not yet been fixed. The reasons for why they have not been
 fixed can involve anything really, but the primary reason is that nobody has
 considered these problems to be important enough to spend the necessary time
 and effort to have them fixed.

 The `KNOWN_BUGS` items are always up for grabs and we love the ones who bring
 one of them back to life and offer solutions to them.

 The `KNOWN_BUGS` document has a sibling document known as `TODO`.

## `TODO`

 Issues that are filed or reported that are not really bugs but more missing
 features or ideas for future improvements and so on are marked as
 'enhancement' or 'feature-request' and will be added to the `TODO` document
 and the issues are closed. We do not keep TODO items open in the issue
 tracker.

 The `TODO` document is full of ideas and suggestions of what we can add or
 fix one day. You are always encouraged and free to grab one of those items and
 take up a discussion with the curl development team on how that could be
 implemented or provided in the project so that you can work on ticking it odd
 that document.

 If an issue is rather a bug and not a missing feature or functionality, it is
 listed in `KNOWN_BUGS` instead.

## Closing off stalled bugs

 The [issue and pull request trackers](https://github.com/curl/curl) only
 hold "active" entries open (using a non-precise definition of what active
 actually is, but they are at least not completely dead). Those that are
 abandoned or in other ways dormant will be closed and sometimes added to
 `TODO` and `KNOWN_BUGS` instead.

 This way, we only have "active" issues open on GitHub. Irrelevant issues and
 pull requests will not distract developers or casual visitors.