{"record":{"id":"126dbffd510602ed","repo":"podman-container-tools/podman","slug":"internal-error-namespace-path-too-long","errorCode":null,"errorMessage":"internal error: namespace path too long\n","messagePattern":"internal error: namespace path too long\n","errorType":"console","errorClass":null,"httpStatus":null,"severity":"error","filePath":"pkg/rootless/rootless_linux.c","lineNumber":703,"sourceCode":"check_stale_pause_pid (long pid, const char *path)\n{\n  if (!is_pause_process (pid))\n    {\n      fprintf (stderr, \"pause.pid file refers to PID %ld which is not a pause process, the process may have exited and the PID been recycled. Removing %s\\n\", pid, path);\n      unlink (path);\n    }\n}\n\nstatic int\nopen_namespace (int pid_to_join, const char *ns_file)\n{\n  char ns_path[PATH_MAX];\n  int ret;\n\n  ret = snprintf (ns_path, PATH_MAX, \"/proc/%d/ns/%s\", pid_to_join, ns_file);\n  if (ret == PATH_MAX)\n    {\n      fprintf (stderr, \"internal error: namespace path too long\\n\");\n      return -1;\n    }\n\n  return open (ns_path, O_CLOEXEC | O_RDONLY);\n}\n\nint\nis_fd_inherited(int fd)\n{\n  if (open_files_set == NULL || fd > open_files_max_fd || fd < 0)\n    return 0;\n\n  return FD_ISSET(fd % FD_SETSIZE, &(open_files_set[fd / FD_SETSIZE])) ? 1 : 0;\n}\n\nstatic void __attribute__((constructor)) init()\n{\n  const char *xdg_runtime_dir;","sourceCodeStart":685,"sourceCodeEnd":721,"githubUrl":"https://github.com/podman-container-tools/podman/blob/a2409076ef2fef60ad9ac046375dedc7d9410ef4/pkg/rootless/rootless_linux.c#L685-L721","documentation":"open_namespace() formats '/proc/<pid>/ns/<name>' into a char ns_path[PATH_MAX] and treats a snprintf return of PATH_MAX as overflow (pkg/rootless/rootless_linux.c:700-705). Both inputs are bounded (pid is an int, ns names are fixed 'user'/'mnt'), so the formatted string cannot legitimately approach 4096 characters. This is an internal assertion that indicates a corrupted or non-standard build rather than a user-reachable condition.","triggerScenarios":"Not reachable through any supported API surface - would require an absurdly long ns_file string, i.e. patched source, stack/memory corruption, or a hostile interposer modifying the process.","commonSituations":"Essentially never in the wild; if seen, assume binary corruption, an incompatible binary/ABI patch, or memory damage.","solutions":["Verify the podman binary: re-install the package or rebuild from source and compare checksums","Check machine memory health (memtest) if corruption is suspected","Report upstream with the exact binary version and how the process was invoked"],"exampleFix":null,"handlingStrategy":"validation","validationCode":null,"typeGuard":null,"tryCatchPattern":null,"preventionTips":["Install podman only from trusted packages; verify checksums if internal errors appear","Treat this message as a corruption indicator and rebuild/reinstall before debugging anything else"],"tags":["internal-error","namespace","path","corruption"],"backgroundTag":null,"analyzedSha":"a2409076ef2fef60ad9ac046375dedc7d9410ef4","analyzedAt":"2026-08-15T15:57:05.625Z","schemaVersion":2},"datasetVersion":"2026-08-15T17:31:12.345Z"}