diff -urNp coreutils-6.10-orig/src/dd.c coreutils-6.10/src/dd.c

--- coreutils-6.10-orig/src/dd.c	2007-12-06 14:22:42.000000000 +0100

+++ coreutils-6.10/src/dd.c	2008-03-11 12:48:12.000000000 +0100

@@ -391,6 +391,25 @@ static char const ebcdic_to_ascii[] =

   '\070', '\071', '\372', '\373', '\374', '\375', '\376', '\377'

 };

+/* True if we need to close the standard output *stream*.  */

+static bool close_stdout_required = true;

+

+/* The only reason to close the standard output *stream* is if

+   parse_long_options fails (as it does for --help or --version).

+   In any other case, dd uses only the STDOUT_FILENO file descriptor,

+   and the "cleanup" function calls "close (STDOUT_FILENO)".

+   Closing the file descriptor and then letting the usual atexit-run

+   close_stdout function call "fclose (stdout)" would result in a

+   harmless failure of the close syscall (with errno EBADF).

+   This function serves solely to avoid the unnecessary close_stdout

+   call, once parse_long_options has succeeded.  */

+static void

+maybe_close_stdout (void)

+{

+  if (close_stdout_required)

+    close_stdout ();

+}

+

 void

 usage (int status)

 {

@@ -1639,12 +1658,14 @@ main (int argc, char **argv)

   textdomain (PACKAGE);

   /* Arrange to close stdout if parse_long_options exits.  */

-  atexit (close_stdout);

+  atexit (maybe_close_stdout);

   page_size = getpagesize ();

   parse_long_options (argc, argv, PROGRAM_NAME, PACKAGE, VERSION,

 		      usage, AUTHORS, (char const *) NULL);

+  close_stdout_required = false;

+

   if (getopt_long (argc, argv, "", NULL, NULL) != -1)

     usage (EXIT_FAILURE);