OOM KILLER triggered when running apparently innocent shell script

Solution Verified - Updated -

Issue

  • The first user logging into the system runs a bash script that sets some variables and cd's you into a directory and puts you out to a command prompt.

  • From there, running something as simple as the "date" command the session locks up. Shortly after, it disconnects the user and on the console of the system you start seeing "OOM KILLER" messages.

  • Sometimes the system comes back to a login prompt on the console; other times the entire system stops responding and must be rebooted.

Environment

  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6

Subscriber exclusive content

A Red Hat subscription provides unlimited access to our knowledgebase, tools, and much more.

Current Customers and Partners

Log in for full access

Log In

New to Red Hat?

Learn more about Red Hat subscriptions

Using a Red Hat product through a public cloud?

How to access this content