https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=98108
Bug ID: 98108 Summary: Broken Schwarz counter for iostreams initialization Product: gcc Version: 10.2.0 Status: UNCONFIRMED Severity: normal Priority: P3 Component: libstdc++ Assignee: unassigned at gcc dot gnu.org Reporter: i.hamsa at gmail dot com Target Milestone: --- Iostreams initialization doesn't work in multithreaded environments. To reproduce one needs two source files: // file1.cc #include <thread> void threadfunc(); struct StaticThread { std::thread t; StaticThread() : t(threadfunc) {} ~StaticThread() { t.join(); } }; static StaticThread thread1, thread2; //file2.cc #include <iostream> void threadfunc() { std::cout << "Printing\n"; } int main() {} //compile g++ -pthread file1.cc file2.cc It is important that <iostream> is NOT included in file1.cc. The resulting executable always crashes on my machine (Gentoo Linux). Add <iostream> to file1.cc, the crash disappears. Change the order of source files in the command line, the crash disappears. --- The culprit is ios_base::Init::_S_refcount. Basically it is an atomic nifty counter. The problem is, the nifty counter idiom doesn't work with multithreading. Making it atomic achieves absolutely nothing. If we have two or more threads that can enter Init::Init() at the same time, one should proceed and the rest must WAIT. It is the same thing as initialization of a static object in a block scope, and should be interlocked in exactly the same way.