---
id: "bug-1918"
status: "open"
status_updated: "2026-10-03"
status_note: "newly logged"
component: "lib"
severity: "leak"
timestamp: "2026-10-03T23:04:08Z"
last_seen: "2026-10-03T23:04:08Z"
occurrences: 1
files: ["src/lib/xcectx.c", "src/lib/vtaskmgr.c", "src/controller/cluster.c"]
tags: ["leak", "vtask", "netio"]
related: ["bug-1916"]
---

# bug-1918: handle_msg / vtask_handle_msg early -EINVAL/-ENOMEM exits leak the received packet

## Description
**Observed:**
Not yet observed at runtime -- found reviewing the bug-1916 fix. When `handle_msg` (src/lib/xcectx.c ~196-198, src/controller/cluster.c ~1371-1373) or `vtask_handle_msg` (src/lib/vtaskmgr.c ~617-629) returns early with -EINVAL/-ENOMEM, the received packet is still in `ep->fsm_in.pkt`; `INVOKE_MSG_HANDLER` (src/include/netio.h:148-158) then stores NULL into the slot without freeing it, so the packet leaks.

**Expected:** on every early exit the packet is freed exactly once (either the handler frees it, or the slot keeps it and the endpoint teardown frees it).
**Impact:** small per-message leak on rare error paths (allocation failure, missing context); pre-existing, not a crash.
**Found by:** review (bug-1916 fix, 2026-10-03)

## Environment
- OS: no /etc/os-release; Docker container; NixOS kernel; kernel Linux 6.18.33 x86_64
- libc: glibc 2.42-47 (interpreter /nix/store/wb6rhpznjfczwlwx23zmdrrw74bayxw4-glibc-2.42-47/lib/ld-linux-x86-64.so.2)
- Toolchain: gcc (GCC) 15.2.0, meson 1.9.1
- Build: asan (xce.build)
- Code: scheduler-framework @ 6d9ef3d0-dirty
- Deployment: any libxce client or the controller's client-request path

## Reproduction
1. Not reproduced; force `vtask_handle_msg` to fail (e.g. allocation failure via a test hook) and check LeakSanitizer for the packet.
- Frequency: 0/1 runs, 2026-10-03 (code-review finding)
- Evidence: code reading of the cited lines

## Root cause
TODO: required for fixed/partial

## Fix
TODO: required for fixed/partial

## Verification
- Test: TODO: name + file; RED before the fix, GREEN after
- Suites: TODO: suite results and build profile
- Live: TODO: soak/deploy run, or n/a and why

## References
- Related: none