errno 73 (EDOTDOT): meaning and diagnosis

Status / error code:		Category:

Constant name:
Source:		Operating System:
Description: a historical RFS path traversal condition reached a remote dot-dot boundary.

Could be also:
Constant	Type	OS
ERPCMISMATCH	errno	Mac
ENOTACTIVE	errno	Solaris
PAGE_FAULT_WITH_INTERRUPTS_OFF	BugCheck Code	Windows

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ELOCKUNMAPPED	ERPCMISMATCH

EDOTDOT

EDOTDOT is explicitly described in Linux errno tables as an RFS-specific error. RFS here is the historical Unix Remote File Sharing facility, not a generic “dot in pathname” syntax error. Modern Linux applications should rarely see this value from ordinary pathname resolution.

If it appears, preserve the compatibility layer, remote filesystem, and path traversal that produced it. Rewriting the pathname mechanically is unlikely to fix the problem unless the layer documents a specific remote-root or parent-directory boundary rule.

Do not confuse with

ENOENT: a component could not be found.
ENOTDIR: a component that must be a directory is not one.
EXDEV: a filesystem boundary makes an operation non-atomic.
EMULTIHOP: the remote layer rejects a multihop traversal.

Linux errno(3) · Linux UAPI errno definitions

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