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Fix race conditions in task host path resolution#13485

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JanProvaznik merged 1 commit into
dotnet:mainfrom
AR-May:fix-msbuild-name-race-condition
Apr 7, 2026
Merged

Fix race conditions in task host path resolution#13485
JanProvaznik merged 1 commit into
dotnet:mainfrom
AR-May:fix-msbuild-name-race-condition

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@AR-May AR-May commented Apr 2, 2026

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Fixes #13484

Context

Multithreaded (/mt) builds that launch out-of-process task hosts crash with ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null. Parameter name: path2 in Path.Combine when multiple RequestBuilder threads simultaneously resolve the task host executable name.

Root cause

GetTaskHostNameFromHostContext in NodeProviderOutOfProcTaskHost.cs has an unsafe read-modify-write sequence on the static field s_msbuildName:

if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(s_msbuildName))            // (1) check
{
    s_msbuildName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("MSBUILD_EXE_NAME"); // (2) write — may be null
    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(s_msbuildName))
    {
        return s_msbuildName;
    }
    s_msbuildName = Constants.MSBuildExecutableName;  // (3) write — always non-null
}
return s_msbuildName;                                // (4) read

When MSBUILD_EXE_NAME is not set, step (2) writes null into s_msbuildName. Between steps (2) and (3), another thread can read s_msbuildName at step (4)** and get null.

The returned null is passed as toolName into Path.Combine(basePath, toolName), which throws ArgumentNullException on .NET Framework (where Path.Combine does not accept null arguments).

Changes Made

Since all computations are deterministic (environment variables + constants), we use the local-variable snapshot pattern
— read the static into a local, compute if null, write back, return the local. This is lock-free and safe because reference writes are atomic in .NET. Applied the same fix to similar patterns in nearby code in NodeProviderOutOfProcTaskHost.cs and CurrentHost.cs

Testing

No extra testing. There is no stable local repro.

Fix unsynchronized shared static fields that can race when multiple
RequestBuilder threads resolve task host paths concurrently in /m builds.

NodeProviderOutOfProcTaskHost.cs:
- TaskHostNameForClr2TaskHost: use local variable to prevent returning
  a stale/null value when another thread clears the cache.
- GetMSBuildExecutablePathForNonNETRuntimes: snapshot base paths into
  locals before using them, so a concurrent caller that hasn't written
  them yet cannot propagate null into Path.Combine.
- GetOrInitializeX*Clr2Path: accept base path as parameter instead of
  reading the static directly, avoiding a null read before init.
- ClearCachedTaskHostPaths: document that it must not be called
  concurrently with methods that populate the statics.

CurrentHost.cs:
- GetCurrentHost: use local variable pattern so the returned value
  cannot be null due to interleaved reads/writes.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>
@AR-May AR-May requested review from JanProvaznik and Copilot and removed request for Copilot April 2, 2026 15:04
@AR-May AR-May self-assigned this Apr 2, 2026
Comment thread src/Build/BackEnd/Components/Communications/CurrentHost.cs
@JanProvaznik JanProvaznik merged commit f86b024 into dotnet:main Apr 7, 2026
14 checks passed
dfederm pushed a commit to dfederm/msbuild that referenced this pull request Apr 9, 2026
# Fixes dotnet#13484

### Context
Multithreaded (`/mt`) builds that launch out-of-process task hosts crash
with `ArgumentNullException: Value cannot be null. Parameter name:
path2` in `Path.Combine` when multiple `RequestBuilder` threads
simultaneously resolve the task host executable name.

### Root cause

`GetTaskHostNameFromHostContext` in `NodeProviderOutOfProcTaskHost.cs`
has an unsafe read-modify-write sequence on the static field
`s_msbuildName`:

```csharp
if (string.IsNullOrEmpty(s_msbuildName))            // (1) check
{
    s_msbuildName = Environment.GetEnvironmentVariable("MSBUILD_EXE_NAME"); // (2) write — may be null
    if (!string.IsNullOrEmpty(s_msbuildName))
    {
        return s_msbuildName;
    }
    s_msbuildName = Constants.MSBuildExecutableName;  // (3) write — always non-null
}
return s_msbuildName;                                // (4) read
```

When `MSBUILD_EXE_NAME` is not set, step (2) writes `null` into
`s_msbuildName`. Between steps (2) and (3), another thread can read
`s_msbuildName` at step (4)** and get `null`.

The returned `null` is passed as `toolName` into `Path.Combine(basePath,
toolName)`, which throws `ArgumentNullException` on .NET Framework
(where `Path.Combine` does not accept null arguments).

### Changes Made
Since all computations are deterministic (environment variables +
constants), we use the local-variable snapshot pattern
— read the static into a local, compute if null, write back, return the
local. This is lock-free and safe because reference writes are atomic in
.NET. Applied the same fix to similar patterns in nearby code in
NodeProviderOutOfProcTaskHost.cs and CurrentHost.cs

### Testing
No extra testing. There is no stable local repro.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <[email protected]>
This was referenced Jun 10, 2026
github-actions Bot pushed a commit to IntelliTect/Multitool that referenced this pull request Jun 29, 2026
Updated [Microsoft.Build](https://github.com/dotnet/msbuild) from 18.6.3
to 18.7.1.

<details>
<summary>Release notes</summary>

_Sourced from [Microsoft.Build's
releases](https://github.com/dotnet/msbuild/releases)._

## 18.7.1

## What's Changed
* Fix TraceEngine file contention deadlock in multithreaded mode by
@​JanProvaznik in dotnet/msbuild#13446
* Remove duplicate test cases in MultithreadableTaskAnalyzer by
@​Youssef1313 in dotnet/msbuild#13483
* Ensure ThreadSafeTaskAnalyzer.Tests is considered as a unit test
project by @​Youssef1313 in dotnet/msbuild#13481
* Fix MSBuildTask0002 analyzer warnings in already-migrated tasks by
@​JanProvaznik in dotnet/msbuild#13466
* Fix race conditions in task host path resolution by @​AR-May in
dotnet/msbuild#13485
* Migrate ToolTask and Al task to TaskEnvironment API by @​OvesN in
dotnet/msbuild#13423
* Bump main to 18.7, add vs18.6 to merge flow by @​MichalPavlik in
dotnet/msbuild#13472
* Avoid allocations in GetHashCode implementations by @​DustinCampbell
in dotnet/msbuild#13475
* Add PATs rotation to agentic workflow(s) by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13496
* Fix ASP.NET WebSite projects to copy netstandard.dll facade when
required by @​JanProvaznik in
dotnet/msbuild#13058
* Migrate AspNetCompiler to TaskEnvironment API by @​OvesN in
dotnet/msbuild#13424
* Add review workflow by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13503
* Strengthen reviewer skill: add step-back analysis dimensions by
@​JanProvaznik in dotnet/msbuild#13504
* Add 'Request Speedometer Perf Run' to VS experimental insertion build
policies by @​Copilot in dotnet/msbuild#13505
* Remove duplicate @ prefix from issueAuthor in GitOps by @​akoeplinger
in dotnet/msbuild#13492
* Improve review aw by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13510
* Migrates unit tests to use RoslynCodeTaskFactory to enable running
tests under .NET Core by @​jankratochvilcz in
dotnet/msbuild#13500
* Fix cross-AppDomain TaskItem modifier cache regression by
@​DustinCampbell in dotnet/msbuild#13493
* Discourage review agent from approving PRs by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13512
* Stop trying to deploy ValueTuple by @​rainersigwald in
dotnet/msbuild#13507
* Ad-hoc re-sign bootstrap dotnet on macOS to prevent SIGKILL by
@​jankratochvilcz in dotnet/msbuild#13513
* RoslynCodeTaskFactory: Log MSB3753 when task class does not implement
ITask by @​jankratochvilcz in
dotnet/msbuild#13517
* Update gh-aw (upon mcp policy changes) by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13526
* Eliminate XmlChildNodes allocations in GetXmlNodeInnerContents by
@​nareshjo in dotnet/msbuild#13509
* Fix telemetry allocation regression: per-engine collector ownership by
@​JanProvaznik in dotnet/msbuild#13516
* Migrate to xunit.v3 by @​Youssef1313 in
dotnet/msbuild#13482
* Fix stray brace in HandleBuildCancel trace string causing MSB1025 by
@​Copilot in dotnet/msbuild#13535
* Bumping to 10.0.4 runtime packages by @​MichalPavlik in
dotnet/msbuild#13533
* Remove early return in GetCanonicalForm, always call System.IO.Path by
@​OvesN in dotnet/msbuild#13532
* Do not overwrite GetCopyToOutputDirectoryItemsDependsOn, just add new…
by @​snechaev in dotnet/msbuild#13474
* Migrate GetReferenceAssemblyPaths task to TaskEnvironment API by
@​OvesN in dotnet/msbuild#13495
* Stabilize ToolTaskThatTimeoutAndRetry test by @​rainersigwald in
dotnet/msbuild#13489
* [automated] Merge branch 'vs18.6' => 'main' by @​github-actions[bot]
in dotnet/msbuild#13506
* Add extra test assertions around tests by @​Youssef1313 in
dotnet/msbuild#13536
* Add static eval for repo skills/agents via skill-validator by
@​JanKrivanek in dotnet/msbuild#13537
* Migrate SGen task to Task environment API by @​OvesN in
dotnet/msbuild#13457
* Fix TerminalLogger assert failure for metaproj files and cached
project eval ID by @​OvesN in
dotnet/msbuild#13480
* Filter out approving review from pr-reviewer agent by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13553
* Use a unique task name per invocation to tabilize
RoslynCodeTaskFactory_ReuseCompilation test by @​huulinhnguyen-dev in
dotnet/msbuild#13551
* Brief doc on feedback/logging/data systems by @​rainersigwald in
dotnet/msbuild#13554
* Localized file check-in by OneLocBuild Task: Build definition ID 9434:
Build ID 13881982 by @​dotnet-bot in
dotnet/msbuild#13437
* Stage 3: Forward BuildProjectFile* callbacks from OOP TaskHost to
worker node by @​JanProvaznik in
dotnet/msbuild#13350
* Enable TaskHost Callbacks by default by @​JanProvaznik in
dotnet/msbuild#13579
* Remove unactionable info from reviewer agent by @​JanKrivanek in
dotnet/msbuild#13578
* Enlighten RequiresFramework35SP1Assembly task for multithreaded mode
by @​jankratochvilcz in dotnet/msbuild#13575
* Make SdkResolver-provided environment variables take precedence over
ambient environment by @​Copilot in
dotnet/msbuild#12655
* Add dotnet/skills marketplace and enable plugins by @​Evangelink in
dotnet/msbuild#13582
* The skills/agents check filters-in only touched files by @​JanKrivanek
in dotnet/msbuild#13586
* Fix skill-validation workflow failing when agents directory is deleted
by @​JeremyKuhne in dotnet/msbuild#13592
 ... (truncated)

Commits viewable in [compare
view](dotnet/msbuild@v18.6.3...v18.7.1).
</details>

Signed-off-by: dependabot[bot] <[email protected]>
Co-authored-by: dependabot[bot] <49699333+dependabot[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
This was referenced Jun 29, 2026
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Race condition in GetTaskHostNameFromHostContext causes ArgumentNullException in multithreaded builds

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