PHP Floating Point Bug Crashes 32-bit Servers

There is currently a bug in PHP 5.2/5.3 for certain numbers to take up all system resources in a 32-bit system using the x87 instruction set (Most Intel/AMD boxes use this instruction set).  Systems running 64-bit operating systems are not affected by this bug.

You can test whether your Linux system is running 64-bit by typing the following command in a shell window:
uname -m

If you see i386 or i686, you are running a 32-bit machine. Listings with x86_64, or amd64 denote a 64-bit machine.

I’m still waiting for this patch to appear in an upcoming operating system update for Debian/Ubuntu/Red Hat/etc. For an immediate fix, a PHP patch is available.

UPDATE: I’ve tested 32-bit Debian systems running PHP 5.2.6-1+lenny9 with Suhosin-Patch 0.9.6.2 and have not been able to reproduce this problem. Seems as though it affects certain versions of PHP 5 on 32-bit systems.

If you are unable to apply the PHP patch, there is a quick workaround posted on http://www.aircraft24.com/en/info/php-float-dos-quickfix.htm.

For more information:
Source:
http://www.exploringbinary.com/php-hangs-on-numeric-value-2-2250738585072011e-308/

Reddit:
http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/evtrq/php_hangs_on_numeric_value_22250738585072011e308/

PHP Bug Report:
http://bugs.php.net/bug.php?id=53632