If we create a package as follows:

$ roscreate-pkg opencv_tests roscpp cv_bridge
$ cd opencv_tests
$ mkdir test
$ echo "rosbuild_add_gtest(test_opencv test/test_opencv.cpp)" >> CMakeLists.txt

and test_opencv.cpp contains

#include <gtest/gtest.h>

int main(int argc, char **argv)
{
  testing::InitGoogleTest(&argc, argv);

  ::testing::FLAGS_gtest_death_test_style = "threadsafe";

  return RUN_ALL_TESTS();
}

then we run rosmake test, the test compiles, but crashes on destruction.

Here is the gdb output:

(gdb) bt
#0  0x00007ffff7285425 in __GI_raise (sig=<optimized out>) at ../nptl/sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/raise.c:64
#1  0x00007ffff7288b8b in __GI_abort () at abort.c:91
#2  0x00007ffff72c339e in __libc_message (do_abort=2, fmt=0x7ffff73cd008 "*** glibc detected *** %s: %s: 0x%s ***\n") at ../sysdeps/unix/sysv/linux/libc_fatal.c:201
#3  0x00007ffff72cdb96 in malloc_printerr (action=3, str=0x7ffff73c9913 "free(): invalid pointer", ptr=<optimized out>) at malloc.c:5018
#4  0x0000000000400b67 in operator= (rhs=..., this=<optimized out>) at /usr/include/gtest/internal/gtest-string.h:285
#5  operator= (a_c_str=0x400e4c "threadsafe", this=<optimized out>) at /usr/include/gtest/internal/gtest-string.h:279
#6  main (argc=1, argv=<optimized out>) at /home/user/opencv_tests/test/test_opencv.cpp:7
(gdb) 

When I get this error, it typically is because GTest and OpenCV are fighting about symbols. In other words, OpenCV includes a version of GTest and we are linking against the wrong one.