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[DefTerm] Some invocations can cause deadlocks in terminal + another GUI application in Attach mode #18598

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opened 2026-01-31 06:18:53 +00:00 by claunia · 0 comments
claunia commented 2026-01-31 06:18:53 +00:00
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Originally created by @DHowett on GitHub (Oct 4, 2022).

The following conditions must be true:

  1. Terminal is set as the default
  2. Terminal is set to "Attach" new instances "to the most recently used window"
  3. Terminal is running

If so, the following application will deadlock:

#define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN
#include <windows.h>
#include <stdlib.h>
#include <string_view>

int APIENTRY wWinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE, LPWSTR, int)
{
	static constexpr auto szWindowClass{ L"BlahWindowClass" };
	static constexpr std::wstring_view szMessage{ L"Launch Windows Terminal w/ \"Attach to most recent...\" set\nClick anywhere to deadlock" };

	auto WndProc = [](HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) -> LRESULT {
		switch (message)
		{
		case WM_LBUTTONUP:
			system("cmd /s /c echo hi");
			break;
		case WM_PAINT:
		{
			PAINTSTRUCT ps;
			HDC hdc = BeginPaint(hWnd, &ps);
			RECT r{ 0, 0, 500, 200 };
			DrawTextW(hdc, szMessage.data(), szMessage.size(), &r, DT_LEFT);
			EndPaint(hWnd, &ps);
		}
		break;
		case WM_DESTROY:
			PostQuitMessage(0);
			break;
		default:
			return DefWindowProcW(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam);
		}
		return 0;
	};

	WNDCLASSEXW wcex{};
	wcex.cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX);
	wcex.lpfnWndProc = static_cast<LRESULT(CALLBACK*)(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM)>(WndProc);
	wcex.hInstance = hInstance;
	wcex.hCursor = LoadCursorW(nullptr, (LPCWSTR)IDC_ARROW);
	wcex.hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)(COLOR_WINDOW + 1);
	wcex.lpszClassName = szWindowClass;
	RegisterClassExW(&wcex);

	HWND hWnd = CreateWindowExW(0, szWindowClass, L"Title", WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW, CW_USEDEFAULT, 0, 500, 200, nullptr, nullptr, hInstance, nullptr);

	ShowWindow(hWnd, SW_SHOWDEFAULT);
	UpdateWindow(hWnd);

	MSG msg;
	while (GetMessage(&msg, nullptr, 0, 0))
	{
		TranslateMessage(&msg);
		DispatchMessage(&msg);
	}

	return (int)msg.wParam;
}

Save it as foo.cpp and compile:

cl /std:c++17 foo.cpp /link onecoreuap.lib

Launch foo.exe and follow the instruction.

Windows Terminal attempts to bring itself to the foreground by calling AttachThreadInput, BringToForeground and AttachThreadInput in rapid succession.
When the application that is currently in the foreground is calling out to system() to spawn a commandline application, BringToForeground will fail: nobody
is running a message loop, and therefore no win32 messages are being drained. That application is waiting for system() to return before processing further
messages.

This may seem like a theoretical problem, but I encountered it while trying to play The Battle for Wesnoth while on vacation 😀

Originally created by @DHowett on GitHub (Oct 4, 2022). The following conditions must be true: 1. Terminal is set as the default 2. Terminal is set to "Attach" new instances "to the most recently used window" 3. Terminal is running If so, the following application will deadlock: ```c++ #define WIN32_LEAN_AND_MEAN #include <windows.h> #include <stdlib.h> #include <string_view> int APIENTRY wWinMain(HINSTANCE hInstance, HINSTANCE, LPWSTR, int) { static constexpr auto szWindowClass{ L"BlahWindowClass" }; static constexpr std::wstring_view szMessage{ L"Launch Windows Terminal w/ \"Attach to most recent...\" set\nClick anywhere to deadlock" }; auto WndProc = [](HWND hWnd, UINT message, WPARAM wParam, LPARAM lParam) -> LRESULT { switch (message) { case WM_LBUTTONUP: system("cmd /s /c echo hi"); break; case WM_PAINT: { PAINTSTRUCT ps; HDC hdc = BeginPaint(hWnd, &ps); RECT r{ 0, 0, 500, 200 }; DrawTextW(hdc, szMessage.data(), szMessage.size(), &r, DT_LEFT); EndPaint(hWnd, &ps); } break; case WM_DESTROY: PostQuitMessage(0); break; default: return DefWindowProcW(hWnd, message, wParam, lParam); } return 0; }; WNDCLASSEXW wcex{}; wcex.cbSize = sizeof(WNDCLASSEX); wcex.lpfnWndProc = static_cast<LRESULT(CALLBACK*)(HWND, UINT, WPARAM, LPARAM)>(WndProc); wcex.hInstance = hInstance; wcex.hCursor = LoadCursorW(nullptr, (LPCWSTR)IDC_ARROW); wcex.hbrBackground = (HBRUSH)(COLOR_WINDOW + 1); wcex.lpszClassName = szWindowClass; RegisterClassExW(&wcex); HWND hWnd = CreateWindowExW(0, szWindowClass, L"Title", WS_OVERLAPPEDWINDOW, CW_USEDEFAULT, 0, 500, 200, nullptr, nullptr, hInstance, nullptr); ShowWindow(hWnd, SW_SHOWDEFAULT); UpdateWindow(hWnd); MSG msg; while (GetMessage(&msg, nullptr, 0, 0)) { TranslateMessage(&msg); DispatchMessage(&msg); } return (int)msg.wParam; } ``` Save it as `foo.cpp` and compile: ``` cl /std:c++17 foo.cpp /link onecoreuap.lib ``` Launch `foo.exe` and follow the instruction. --- Windows Terminal attempts to bring itself to the foreground by calling `AttachThreadInput`, `BringToForeground` and `AttachThreadInput` in rapid succession. When the application that is currently in the foreground is calling out to `system()` to spawn a commandline application, `BringToForeground` will fail: nobody is running a message loop, and therefore no win32 messages are being drained. That application is waiting for `system()` to return before processing further messages. This may seem like a theoretical problem, but I encountered it while trying to play [The Battle for Wesnoth](https://www.wesnoth.org/) while on vacation :grinning:
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Reference: starred/terminal#18598
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