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### 2.24 `__malloc_lock`, `__malloc_unlock`—lock malloc pool

Synopsis

         #include <malloc.h>
         void __malloc_lock (struct _reent *reent);
         void __malloc_unlock (struct _reent *reent);

Description
The `malloc` family of routines call these functions when they need to lock the memory pool. The version of these routines supplied in the library use the lock API defined in sys/lock.h. If multiple threads of execution can call `malloc`, or if `malloc` can be called reentrantly, then you need to define your own versions of these functions in order to safely lock the memory pool during a call. If you do not, the memory pool may become corrupted.

A call to `malloc` may call `__malloc_lock` recursively; that is, the sequence of calls may go `__malloc_lock`, `__malloc_lock`, `__malloc_unlock`, `__malloc_unlock`. Any implementation of these routines must be careful to avoid causing a thread to wait for a lock that it already holds.