# rtfree message displayed in kernel logs



## ptitoliv (Jun 12, 2009)

Hello everybody.

I am writing here in order to have informations about a messages displayed in my kernel log file. The message is the following : 


```
Jun  7 03:21:21 ares kernel: rtfree: 0xffffff00690751f0 has 2 refs
Jun  7 03:21:55 ares last message repeated 18 times
Jun  7 03:22:21 ares last message repeated 5 times
```

This behavior appears randomly but there is a common point : This warning appears always at the same hour which is beteween 03:00 and 03:20 CEST.

The box seems to work perfectly but however I have some interrogations about this message :

- Why this message appears ? I checked the source code but didn't really understand except that it seems to be link with the routing process
- Is it critical ?
- Which process or kernel tasks can provoke this behavior ?
- Is there a way to resolve it ?

My configuration is the following :

- FreeBSD 7.2-RELEASE with GENERIC Kernel
- Multi IPV4 adresses
- IPV6 enabled

Thanks for your answers

Regards,


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## SirDice (Jun 12, 2009)

Do you actually use IPv6? If not, try turning it off.


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## ptitoliv (Jun 12, 2009)

Right now, IPV6 is not in use but I will need it in the future. I am going to disable it and check the message appears again.

Do you have information about this issue ? Does it concern IPV6 ?


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## SirDice (Jun 12, 2009)

This thread gave me the idea:

http://lists.freebsd.org/pipermail/freebsd-net/2007-August/015151.html


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## ptitoliv (Jun 12, 2009)

Thanks for the link.

I checked the code for the function nd6_ns_input and I confirm that a call to rtfree is done in stead of RTFREE_LOCKED but I am not so expert in the Freebsd code to tell if it is a bug or not.

Should I open a PR ?


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## SirDice (Jun 12, 2009)

Have you tried disabling IPv6? If it goes away then it might be some regression that crept in. Also try to get the latest patch for 7.2-RELEASE. That should be 7.2-RELEASE-p1. That patch also includes one for IPv6. Not sure if it will fix this issue though.

http://security.freebsd.org/advisories/FreeBSD-SA-09:10.ipv6.asc

If the problem still persists I would file a PR.

FWIW I run 7.2-STABLE and use IPv6 but I haven't seen that error.


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## ptitoliv (Jun 12, 2009)

I am going to disable IPV6 and check the behavior.

I will be back with the results in few days.


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