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MALLOPT(3)                                                              Linux Programmer's Manual                                                             MALLOPT(3)

NAME
       mallopt - set memory allocation parameters

SYNOPSIS
       #include <malloc.h>

       int mallopt(int param, int value);

DESCRIPTION
       The mallopt() function adjusts parameters that control the behavior of the memory-allocation functions (see malloc(3)).  The param argument specifies the parame‐
       ter to be modified, and value specifies the new value for that parameter.

       The following values can be specified for param:

       M_ARENA_MAX
              If this parameter has a nonzero value, it defines a hard limit on the maximum number of arenas that can be created.  An arena represents a pool of  memory
              that  can be used by malloc(3) (and similar) calls to service allocation requests.  Arenas are thread safe and therefore may have multiple concurrent mem‐
              ory requests.  The trade-off is between the number of threads and the number of arenas.  The more arenas you have, the lower  the  per-thread  contention,
              but the higher the memory usage.

              The default value of this parameter is 0, meaning that the limit on the number of arenas is determined according to the setting of M_ARENA_TEST.

              This  parameter  has been available since glibc 2.10 via --enable-experimental-malloc, and since glibc 2.15 by default.  In some versions of the allocator
              there was no limit on the number of created arenas (e.g., CentOS 5, RHEL 5).

              When employing newer glibc versions, applications may in some cases exhibit high contention when accessing arenas.  In these cases, it may  be  beneficial
              to  increase M_ARENA_MAX to match the number of threads.  This is similar in behavior to strategies taken by tcmalloc and jemalloc (e.g., per-thread allo‐
              cation pools).

       M_ARENA_TEST
              This parameter specifies a value, in number of arenas created, at which point the system configuration will be examined to determine a hard limit  on  the
              number of created arenas.  (See M_ARENA_MAX for the definition of an arena.)

              The  computation of the arena hard limit is implementation-defined and is usually calculated as a multiple of the number of available CPUs.  Once the hard
              limit is computed, the result is final and constrains the total number of arenas.

              The default value for the M_ARENA_TEST parameter is 2 on systems where sizeof(long) is 4; otherwise the default value is 8.

              This parameter has been available since glibc 2.10 via --enable-experimental-malloc, and since glibc 2.15 by default.

              The value of M_ARENA_TEST is not used when M_ARENA_MAX has a nonzero value.

       M_CHECK_ACTION
              Setting this parameter controls how glibc responds when various kinds of programming errors are detected (e.g., freeing the same pointer  twice).   The  3
              least significant bits (2, 1, and 0) of the value assigned to this parameter determine the glibc behavior, as follows:

              Bit 0  If  this  bit is set, then print a one-line message on stderr that provides details about the error.  The message starts with the string "*** glibc
                     detected ***", followed by the program name, the name of the memory-allocation function in which the error was detected, a brief description of the
                     error, and the memory address where the error was detected.

              Bit 1  If  this  bit  is set, then, after printing any error message specified by bit 0, the program is terminated by calling abort(3).  In glibc versions
                     since 2.4, if bit 0 is also set, then, between printing the error message and aborting, the program also prints a stack  trace  in  the  manner  of
                     backtrace(3), and prints the process's memory mapping in the style of /proc/[pid]/maps (see proc(5)).

              Bit 2 (since glibc 2.4)
                     This bit has an effect only if bit 0 is also set.  If this bit is set, then the one-line message describing the error is simplified to contain just
                     the name of the function where the error was detected and the brief description of the error.

              The remaining bits in value are ignored.

              Combining the above details, the following numeric values are meaningful for M_CHECK_ACTION:

                   0  Ignore error conditions; continue execution (with undefined results).

                   1  Print a detailed error message and continue execution.

                   2  Abort the program.

                   3  Print detailed error message, stack trace, and memory mappings, and abort the program.

                   5  Print a simple error message and continue execution.

                   7  Print simple error message, stack trace, and memory mappings, and abort the program.

              Since glibc 2.3.4, the default value for the M_CHECK_ACTION parameter is 3.  In glibc version 2.3.3 and earlier, the default value is 1.

              Using a nonzero M_CHECK_ACTION value can be useful because otherwise a crash may happen much later, and the true cause of the problem is then very hard to
              track down.

       M_MMAP_MAX
              This  parameter specifies the maximum number of allocation requests that may be simultaneously serviced using mmap(2).  This parameter exists because some
              systems have a limited number of internal tables for use by mmap(2), and using more than a few of them may degrade performance.

              The default value is 65,536, a value which has no special significance and which serves only as a safeguard.  Setting this parameter to 0 disables the use
              of mmap(2) for servicing large allocation requests.

       M_MMAP_THRESHOLD
              For allocations greater than or equal to the limit specified (in bytes) by M_MMAP_THRESHOLD that can't be satisfied from the free list, the memory-alloca‐
              tion functions employ mmap(2) instead of increasing the program break using sbrk(2).

              Allocating memory using mmap(2) has the significant advantage that the allocated memory blocks can always be independently released back  to  the  system.
              (By contrast, the heap can be trimmed only if memory is freed at the top end.)  On the other hand, there are some disadvantages to the use of mmap(2): de‐
              allocated space is not placed on the free list for reuse by later allocations; memory may be wasted because mmap(2) allocations must be page-aligned;  and
              the  kernel  must  perform the expensive task of zeroing out memory allocated via mmap(2).  Balancing these factors leads to a default setting of 128*1024
              for the M_MMAP_THRESHOLD parameter.

              The lower limit for this parameter is 0.  The upper limit is DEFAULT_MMAP_THRESHOLD_MAX: 512*1024 on 32-bit systems or 4*1024*1024*sizeof(long) on  64-bit
              systems.

              Note:  Nowadays,  glibc uses a dynamic mmap threshold by default.  The initial value of the threshold is 128*1024, but when blocks larger than the current
              threshold and less than or equal to DEFAULT_MMAP_THRESHOLD_MAX are freed, the threshold is adjusted upward to the size of the freed block.   When  dynamic
              mmap  thresholding is in effect, the threshold for trimming the heap is also dynamically adjusted to be twice the dynamic mmap threshold.  Dynamic adjust‐
              ment of the mmap threshold is disabled if any of the M_TRIM_THRESHOLD, M_TOP_PAD, M_MMAP_THRESHOLD, or M_MMAP_MAX parameters is set.

       M_MXFAST (since glibc 2.3)
              Set the upper limit for memory allocation requests that are satisfied using "fastbins".  (The measurement unit for this parameter is bytes.)  Fastbins are
              storage areas that hold deallocated blocks of memory of the same size without merging adjacent free blocks.  Subsequent reallocation of blocks of the same
              size can be handled very quickly by allocating from the fastbin, although memory fragmentation and the overall memory footprint of  the  program  can  in‐
              crease.

              The default value for this parameter is 64*sizeof(size_t)/4 (i.e., 64 on 32-bit architectures).  The range for this parameter is 0 to 80*sizeof(size_t)/4.
              Setting M_MXFAST to 0 disables the use of fastbins.

       M_PERTURB (since glibc 2.4)
              If this parameter is set to a nonzero value, then bytes of allocated memory (other than allocations via calloc(3)) are initialized to  the  complement  of
              the  value  in  the least significant byte of value, and when allocated memory is released using free(3), the freed bytes are set to the least significant
              byte of value.  This can be useful for detecting errors where programs incorrectly rely on allocated memory being initialized to zero, or reuse values  in
              memory that has already been freed.

              The default value for this parameter is 0.

       M_TOP_PAD
              This  parameter  defines  the  amount  of padding to employ when calling sbrk(2) to modify the program break.  (The measurement unit for this parameter is
              bytes.)  This parameter has an effect in the following circumstances:

              *  When the program break is increased, then M_TOP_PAD bytes are added to the sbrk(2) request.

              *  When the heap is trimmed as a consequence of calling free(3) (see the discussion of M_TRIM_THRESHOLD) this much free space is preserved at the  top  of
                 the heap.

              In either case, the amount of padding is always rounded to a system page boundary.

              Modifying  M_TOP_PAD  is a trade-off between increasing the number of system calls (when the parameter is set low) and wasting unused memory at the top of
              the heap (when the parameter is set high).

              The default value for this parameter is 128*1024.

       M_TRIM_THRESHOLD
              When the amount of contiguous free memory at the top of the heap grows sufficiently large, free(3) employs sbrk(2) to release this memory back to the sys‐
              tem.   (This can be useful in programs that continue to execute for a long period after freeing a significant amount of memory.)  The M_TRIM_THRESHOLD pa‐
              rameter specifies the minimum size (in bytes) that this block of memory must reach before sbrk(2) is used to trim the heap.

              The default value for this parameter is 128*1024.  Setting M_TRIM_THRESHOLD to -1 disables trimming completely.

              Modifying M_TRIM_THRESHOLD is a trade-off between increasing the number of system calls (when the parameter is set low) and wasting unused memory  at  the
              top of the heap (when the parameter is set high).

   Environment variables
       A  number  of environment variables can be defined to modify some of the same parameters as are controlled by mallopt().  Using these variables has the advantage
       that the source code of the program need not be changed.  To be effective, these variables must be defined before the first call to a memory-allocation function.
       (If the same parameters are adjusted via mallopt(), then the mallopt() settings take precedence.)  For security reasons, these variables are ignored in set-user-
       ID and set-group-ID programs.

       The environment variables are as follows (note the trailing underscore at the end of the name of some variables):

       MALLOC_ARENA_MAX
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_ARENA_MAX.

       MALLOC_ARENA_TEST
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_ARENA_TEST.

       MALLOC_CHECK_
              This environment variable controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_CHECK_ACTION.  If this variable is set to a nonzero value, then a special implementa‐
              tion  of the memory-allocation functions is used.  (This is accomplished using the malloc_hook(3) feature.)  This implementation performs additional error
              checking, but is slower than the standard set of memory-allocation functions.  (This implementation does not detect all possible errors; memory leaks  can
              still occur.)

              The  value  assigned  to  this environment variable should be a single digit, whose meaning is as described for M_CHECK_ACTION.  Any characters beyond the
              initial digit are ignored.

              For security reasons, the effect of MALLOC_CHECK_ is disabled by default for set-user-ID and set-group-ID programs.  However, if the file  /etc/suid-debug
              exists (the content of the file is irrelevant), then MALLOC_CHECK_ also has an effect for set-user-ID and set-group-ID programs.

       MALLOC_MMAP_MAX_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_MMAP_MAX.

       MALLOC_MMAP_THRESHOLD_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_MMAP_THRESHOLD.

       MALLOC_PERTURB_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_PERTURB.

       MALLOC_TRIM_THRESHOLD_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_TRIM_THRESHOLD.

       MALLOC_TOP_PAD_
              Controls the same parameter as mallopt() M_TOP_PAD.

RETURN VALUE
       On success, mallopt() returns 1.  On error, it returns 0.

ERRORS
       On error, errno is not set.

CONFORMING TO
       This  function  is  not  specified by POSIX or the C standards.  A similar function exists on many System V derivatives, but the range of values for param varies
       across systems.  The SVID defined options M_MXFAST, M_NLBLKS, M_GRAIN, and M_KEEP, but only the first of these is implemented in glibc.

BUGS
       Specifying an invalid value for param does not generate an error.

       A calculation error within the glibc implementation means that a call of the form:

           mallopt(M_MXFAST, n)

       does not result in fastbins being employed for all allocations of size up to n.  To ensure desired results, n should be rounded up to the next  multiple  greater
       than or equal to (2k+1)*sizeof(size_t), where k is an integer.

       If  mallopt()  is  used  to set M_PERTURB, then, as expected, the bytes of allocated memory are initialized to the complement of the byte in value, and when that
       memory is freed, the bytes of the region are initialized to the byte specified in value.  However, there is an off-by-sizeof(size_t) error in the implementation:
       instead of initializing precisely the block of memory being freed by the call free(p), the block starting at p+sizeof(size_t) is initialized.

EXAMPLES
       The  program below demonstrates the use of M_CHECK_ACTION.  If the program is supplied with an (integer) command-line argument, then that argument is used to set
       the M_CHECK_ACTION parameter.  The program then allocates a block of memory, and frees it twice (an error).

       The following shell session shows what happens when we run this program under glibc, with the default value for M_CHECK_ACTION:

           $ ./a.out
           main(): returned from first free() call
           *** glibc detected *** ./a.out: double free or corruption (top): 0x09d30008 ***
           ======= Backtrace: =========
           /lib/libc.so.6(+0x6c501)[0x523501]
           /lib/libc.so.6(+0x6dd70)[0x524d70]
           /lib/libc.so.6(cfree+0x6d)[0x527e5d]
           ./a.out[0x80485db]
           /lib/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0xe7)[0x4cdce7]
           ./a.out[0x8048471]
           ======= Memory map: ========
           001e4000-001fe000 r-xp 00000000 08:06 1083555    /lib/libgcc_s.so.1
           001fe000-001ff000 r--p 00019000 08:06 1083555    /lib/libgcc_s.so.1
           [some lines omitted]
           b7814000-b7817000 rw-p 00000000 00:00 0
           bff53000-bff74000 rw-p 00000000 00:00 0          [stack]
           Aborted (core dumped)

       The following runs show the results when employing other values for M_CHECK_ACTION:

           $ ./a.out 1             # Diagnose error and continue
           main(): returned from first free() call
           *** glibc detected *** ./a.out: double free or corruption (top): 0x09cbe008 ***
           main(): returned from second free() call
           $ ./a.out 2             # Abort without error message
           main(): returned from first free() call
           Aborted (core dumped)
           $ ./a.out 0             # Ignore error and continue
           main(): returned from first free() call
           main(): returned from second free() call

       The next run shows how to set the same parameter using the MALLOC_CHECK_ environment variable:

           $ MALLOC_CHECK_=1 ./a.out
           main(): returned from first free() call
           *** glibc detected *** ./a.out: free(): invalid pointer: 0x092c2008 ***
           main(): returned from second free() call

   Program source

       #include <malloc.h>
       #include <stdio.h>
       #include <stdlib.h>

       int
       main(int argc, char *argv[])
       {
           char *p;

           if (argc > 1) {
               if (mallopt(M_CHECK_ACTION, atoi(argv[1])) != 1) {
                   fprintf(stderr, "mallopt() failed");
                   exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
               }
           }

           p = malloc(1000);
           if (p == NULL) {
               fprintf(stderr, "malloc() failed");
               exit(EXIT_FAILURE);
           }

           free(p);
           printf("main(): returned from first free() call\n");

           free(p);
           printf("main(): returned from second free() call\n");

           exit(EXIT_SUCCESS);
       }

SEE ALSO
       mmap(2), sbrk(2), mallinfo(3), malloc(3), malloc_hook(3), malloc_info(3), malloc_stats(3), malloc_trim(3), mcheck(3), mtrace(3), posix_memalign(3)

Linux                                                                          2021-03-22                                                                     MALLOPT(3)