In Linux, the error “segmentation fault (core dumped)” comes across during the execution of the script file (C, C++, Python, Java) from the terminal. The core dump is when a code performs read and write operations on a free memory location.
This article will provide multiple solutions to the above-stated “segmentation fault (core dumped)” error. The supported content of this guideline is as follows:
- Reason: Attempting the Non-Existing Memory
- Solution 1: Remove the Lock File
- Solution 2: Kill the Specific Process
Reason: Attempting the Non-Existing Memory
The main cause of this error is that you are trying to access a specific portion of memory that does not exist. For instance, when users try to read or write the elements of a non-existent array, do not define the pointer before using it or use a memory address with the same variable value. Therefore, the particular program will crash and display the “segmentation fault” error when executing the file:
The next sections contain several solutions to encounter the above error.
Solution 1: Remove the Lock File
During the execution of a program, locked files are created to make the script files executable. To resolve the error, one of the solutions is to remove the lock file that attempts the non-existent memory. For removing these files, the “rm” command is used to delete the lock files:
$ sudo rm -rvf /var/lib/apt/lists/lock /var/cache/apt/archives/lock /var/lib/dpkg/lock
Let’s head over to another solution.
Solution 2: Kill the Specific Process
Users can consider another solution to resolve errors by killing the specific process. First, locate the process id stored in the “/var/lib/dpkg/lock” directory:
$ sudo lsof /var/lib/dpkg/lock
After identifying the specific process id, you can go to terminate the process. For this, the “kill” command is utilized with a “-9” signal that forcefully terminates the running process “5903”:
$ sudo kill -9 5903
You can verify that the “kill” command terminates the specific process via “5903” id.
Conclusion
In Linux, the error “segmentation fault (core dumped)” occurs when the process requires additional memory that the operating system does not permit access. It can be resolved by removing the “lock” files through the “rm” command, clearing the cache repository, or killing the process via “process id”. This article has explained all possible solutions to encounter the error mentioned above.
