Jave broken... WTF is PAX?!?

[Brian Chabot]

Here's something new to me...

Java is dying with little explanation and the logs aren't helping.
(the machine is running Linux Mandrake 2.4.22-10mdksecure)

Java, in several versions are dying with a segfault and a core dump.

The log entries are all kinds of lost on me.

What the heck is this supposed to mean?

The view from the console:

> # /usr/java/j2re1.4.2_05/bin/java -version
> Killed

...and in the log:

> Sep  3 17:28:07 hostname kernel: PAX: From NNN.NNN.NNN.NNN: 
> terminating task: /usr/java/j2re1.4.2_05/bin/java(java):11183, 
> uid/euid: 0/0, PC: 2deabb44, SP: 5b6b0124
> Sep  3 17:28:07 hostname kernel: PAX: bytes at PC: 68 7f 02 00 00 d9 
> 6c 24 00 58 c3 90 cc cc cc cc 00 80 01 00

...or as not root:

> $ /usr/java/j2re1.4.2_05/bin/java -version
> Killed

...and in the log:

> Sep  3 17:29:45 hostname kernel: PAX: From NNN.NNN.NNN.NNN: 
> terminating task: /usr/java/j2re1.4.2_05/bin/java(java):11340, 
> uid/euid: 501/501, PC: 247b1b44, SP: 5b2f97b4
> Sep  3 17:29:45 hostname kernel: PAX: bytes at PC: 68 7f 02 00 00 d9 
> 6c 24 00 58 c3 90 cc cc cc cc 00 80 01 00


So, uhh.... What is this PAX?  And why does it seem to be terminating 
java (with extreme prjudice)?

I'm pretty lost here. 

Brian