Source : Free On-Line Dictionary of Computing

fork bomb
     
         A particular species of {wabbit} that can be
        written in one line of {C}:
     
        	main() {for(;;)fork();}
     
        or {shell}:
     
        	$0 & $0 &
     
        on any {Unix} system, or occasionally created by an egregious
        coding bug.  A fork bomb process "explodes" by {recursive}ly
        spawning copies of itself using the {Unix} {system call}
        "{fork}(2)".  Eventually it eats all the process table entries
        and effectively wedges the system.  Fortunately, fork bombs
        are relatively easy to spot and kill, so creating one
        deliberately seldom accomplishes more than to bring the just
        wrath of the {god}s down upon the perpetrator.
     
        See also {logic bomb}.
     
        [{Jargon File}]
     
        (1994-12-14)