Bash – Perl and Python wrongly interpreted via shebang on Linux

All my Python and Perl scripts are simply NOT iterpreted via shebang. Never. But they work as expected when I explicitly call the binary.

I double checked my Perl and Python installations, it is just too strange: they shebang-way execution works very well in the target system chroot on a sane host but not in the actual running system.

I work on a homemade Linux system which worked just great before that problem appeared. See by yourself:

A test on the 'xscreensaver-text' Perl program, once via shebang then with the interpreter on the CLI:

$ LC_ALL=C LANG=C /usr/bin/xscreensaver-text
/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text: line 23: require: command not found
/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text: line 25: use: command not found
/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text: line 29: BEGIN: command not found
/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text: line 31: use: command not found
/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text: line 32: syntax error near unexpected token `('
/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text: line 32: `use POSIX qw(strftime);'

$ LC_ALL=C LANG=C perl /usr/bin/xscreensaver-text
poopy
Linux 3.11.1

Sat Oct  5 23:07:33 2013

up 11:35,  2 users
load average: 0.09, 0.08, 0.06

SO this for Perl programs but the same happens with Python scripts. We've been messing with encodings and terminfo's and different kernel, still no success. I've even rebuilt my entire system. It works just great in a chroot env, but once I boot it I have this problem.

Here's an strace output:

$ LC_ALL=C LANG=C strace /usr/bin/xscreensaver-text
execve("/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text", ["/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text"], [/* 50 vars */]) = -1 ENOEXEC (Exec format error)
write(2, "strace: exec: Exec format error\n", 32strace: exec: Exec format error
) = 32
exit_group(1)                           = ?
+++ exited with 1 +++

$ LC_ALL=C LANG=C strace perl /usr/bin/xscreensaver-text
execve("/usr/bin/perl", ["perl", "/usr/bin/xscreensaver-text"], [/* 50 vars */]) = 0
brk(0)                                  = 0x601000
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7ff12e312000
access("/etc/ld.so.preload", R_OK)      = -1 ENOENT (No such file or directory)
open("/etc/ld.so.cache", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0644, st_size=240674, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 240674, PROT_READ, MAP_PRIVATE, 3, 0) = 0x7ff12e2d7000
close(3)                                = 0
open("/usr/lib64/libc.so.6", O_RDONLY|O_CLOEXEC) = 3
read(3, "\177ELF\2\1\1\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\3\0>\0\1\0\0\0 \37\2\0\0\0\0\0"..., 832) = 832
fstat(3, {st_mode=S_IFREG|0755, st_size=1868472, ...}) = 0
mmap(NULL, 3981888, PROT_READ|PROT_EXEC, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0) = 0x7ff12dd24000
mprotect(0x7ff12dee6000, 2097152, PROT_NONE) = 0
mmap(0x7ff12e0e6000, 24576, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_DENYWRITE, 3, 0x1c2000) = 0x7ff12e0e6000
mmap(0x7ff12e0ec000, 16960, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_FIXED|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7ff12e0ec000
close(3)                                = 0
mmap(NULL, 4096, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7ff12e2d6000
mmap(NULL, 8192, PROT_READ|PROT_WRITE, MAP_PRIVATE|MAP_ANONYMOUS, -1, 0) = 0x7ff12e2d4000
arch_prctl(ARCH_SET_FS, 0x7ff12e2d4740) = 0
mprotect(0x7ff12e0e6000, 16384, PROT_READ) = 0
mprotect(0x7ff12e313000, 4096, PROT_READ) = 0
munmap(0x7ff12e2d7000, 240674)          = 0
brk(0)                                  = 0x601000
brk(0x622000)                           = 0x622000
clone(child_stack=0, flags=CLONE_CHILD_CLEARTID|CLONE_CHILD_SETTID|SIGCHLD, child_tidptr=0x7ff12e2d4a10) = 5680
wait4(5680, poopy
Linux 3.11.1

Sat Oct  5 23:11:49 2013

up 11:39,  2 users
load average: 0.08, 0.12, 0.08

[{WIFEXITED(s) && WEXITSTATUS(s) == 0}], 0, NULL) = 5680
--- SIGCHLD {si_signo=SIGCHLD, si_code=CLD_EXITED, si_pid=5680, si_status=0, si_utime=2, si_stime=0} ---
exit_group(0)                           = ?
+++ exited with 0 +++

Contents (only the beginning) of the script :

$ cat /usr/bin/xscreensaver-text
#!/usr/bin/perl -w
# Copyright � 2005-2013 Jamie Zawinski 
#
#
# Created: 19-Mar-2005.

require 5;
#use diagnostics;   # Fails on some MacOS 10.5 systems
use strict;

# Some Linux systems don't install LWP by default!
# Only error out if we're actually loading a URL instead of local data.
BEGIN { eval 'use LWP::UserAgent;' }
--*snip*--