prepare_cmd(&argv, cmd);
childenv = prep_childenv(cmd->env);
+ /*
+ * NOTE: In order to prevent deadlocking when using threads special
+ * care should be taken with the function calls made in between the
+ * fork() and exec() calls. No calls should be made to functions which
+ * require acquiring a lock (e.g. malloc) as the lock could have been
+ * held by another thread at the time of forking, causing the lock to
+ * never be released in the child process. This means only
+ * Async-Signal-Safe functions are permitted in the child.
+ */
cmd->pid = fork();
failed_errno = errno;
if (!cmd->pid) {