uutils/coreutils

dd: Silent Truncate Error Suppression

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#9745 opened on Dec 20, 2025

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U - ddgood first issuereported-canonical

Description

Component

dd

Description

If the output device is full, read-only, or otherwise unable to be truncated, dd reports success (exit 0) while leaving stale data in the output file.

Impact

Silent data corruption. Backup scripts relying on dd may believe a copy succeeded when it actually contains old/garbage data, leading to undetected data loss during recovery.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
rust
Domain
cli
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-3 hours
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Rust programmingFile I/O conceptsError handling in Rustdd command behavior
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
60
Research direction
Investigate the dd implementation in the uutils/coreutils repository, focusing on the truncation logic. Look for where errors from truncation system calls are ignored or suppressed. Review existing tests for dd to understand expected behavior. Consider adding a test case that simulates a full output device or a read only file. The fix should ensure that truncation failures are propagated and lead to a non zero exit code.