So maybe this is on 64 bit architectures?  I'd mumbled about precisely
this same effect a week or so ago on the Alpha port.  I do the same thing
in order to recover to what behaves like a stable system again (e.g. I
could build new kernels, do a make UPDATE=1 build etc.)  Cheers,  -- Ken

Martin Husemann wrote:
> 
> Hi!
> 
> I'm not yet sure if this affects all ports, I noticed on sparc64 and
> investigation didn't reveal anything real yet.
> 
> I did a cvs update a few hours ago, booted new kernel and build a new libc.
> 
> After installing libc, *many* programs start to fail, including: su, getty,
> gdb, ktrace and who.
> 
> Removing the libc symlink and pointing it to an older version (libc.so.12.75)
> made everything happy again.
> 
> So, folks, be carefull when upgrading right now; and better keep a root shell
> around.
> 
> Martin