[users@httpd] httpd processes spawning and causing high load and server to halt

[Chris <chrcoluk@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hi I am getting high load averages causes by child apache processes spawnign, it is happening at least 5 times a week and I suspect some kind of attack is been used on my server.  At the times of the problem I am seeing these in my log files.

 

httpd in free(): error: recursive call
[Sat Dec  3 21:13:18 2005] [notice] child pid 3405 exit signal Segmentation faul
t (11)
httpdhttpd in free(): error: recursive call
 in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call

[Sat Dec  3 21:16:30 2005] [notice] child pid 14245 exit signal Segmentation fau
lt (11)
[Sat Dec  3 21:16:41 2005] [notice] child pid 85258 exit signal Segmentation fau
lt (11)
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
httpd in free(): error: recursive call
 

this continures for some time with dozens of the above line's and then I see the following.

 

httpd in free(): error: page is already free
httpd in free(): error: page is already free
httpd in free(): error: page is already free
httpd in free(): error: page is already free

 

about 30 of them and then

 

[Sat Dec  3 21:43:33 2005] [warn] child process 95983 still did not exit, sendin
g a SIGTERM
[Sat Dec  3 21:43:33 2005] [warn] child process 96182 still did not exit, sendin
g a SIGTERM
[Sat Dec  3 21:43:33 2005] [warn] child process 96399 still did not exit, sendin
g a SIGTERM
[Sat Dec  3 21:43:33 2005] [warn] child process 96432 still did not exit, sendin
g a SIGTERM

 

they all start dieing of as above.  The problem is if unattended which is mostly the case this can go on for over an hour, and during this time the server is almost unresponsive.  The os is FreeBSD 5.4 apache 1.3.34 php 4.4.0 (previously 4.4.1 downgraded to see if help the issue), they kept on dying off slowly until the server got a sighup later after which it was normal.  The occasions it has happened whilst I was present restarting apache always fixed it.

 

I need some help with this it has been on going for over a week and I am out of idea's having rebooted, recompiled apache/php etc.

 

Chris