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All standard library functions, including input/output functions and memory allocation functions, return either a valid value or a value of the correct return type that indicates an error (for example, −1 or a null pointer). Assuming that all calls to such functions will succeed and failing to check the return value for an indication of an error is a dangerous practice that may lead to unexpected or undefined behavior when an error occurs. It is essential that programs detect and appropriately handle all errors in accordance with an error-handling policy, as discussed in ERR00-C. Adopt and implement a consistent and comprehensive error-handling policy.

The successful completion or failure of each of the standard library functions listed in the following table shall be determined either by comparing the function’s return value with the value listed in the column labeled “Error Return” or by calling one of the library functions mentioned in the footnotes to the same column.

Function

Successful Return

Error Return

aligned_alloc()

Pointer to space

NULL

asctime_s()

0

Nonzero

at_quick_exit()

0

Nonzero

atexit()

0

Nonzero

bsearch()

Pointer to matching element

NULL

bsearch_s()

Pointer to matching element

NULL

btowc()

Converted wide character

WEOF

c16rtomb()

Number of bytes

(size_t)(-1)

c32rtomb()

Number of bytes

(size_t)(-1)

calloc()

Pointer to space

NULL

clock()

Processor time

(clock_t)(-1)

cnd_broadcast()

thrd_success

thrd_error

cnd_init()

thrd_success

thrd_nomem or thrd_error

cnd_signal()

thrd_success

thrd_error

cnd_timedwait()

thrd_success

thrd_timedout or thrd_error

cnd_wait()

thrd_success

thrd_error

ctime_s()

0

Nonzero

fclose()

0

EOF (negative)

fflush()

0

EOF (negative)

fgetc()

Character read

EOF2

fgetpos()

0

Nonzero

fgets()

Pointer to string

NULL

fgetwc()

Wide character read

WEOF2

fopen()

Pointer to stream

NULL

fopen_s()

0

Nonzero

fprintf()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

fprintf_s()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

fputc()

Character written

EOF1

fputs()

Nonnegative

EOF (negative)

fputws()

Nonnegative

EOF (negative)

fread()

Elements read

Elements read

freopen()

Pointer to stream

NULL

freopen_s()

0

Nonzero

fscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

fscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

fseek()

0

Nonzero

fsetpos()

0

Nonzero

ftell()

File position

−1L

fwprintf()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

fwprintf_s()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

fwrite()

Elements written

Elements written

fwscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

fwscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

getc()

Character read

EOF2

getchar()

Character read

EOF2

getenv()

Pointer to string

NULL

getenv_s()

Pointer to string

NULL

gets_s()

Pointer to string

NULL

getwc()

Wide character read

WEOF

getwchar()

Wide character read

WEOF

gmtime()

Pointer to broken-down time

NULL

gmtime_s()

Pointer to broken-down time

NULL

localtime()

Pointer to broken-down time

NULL

localtime_s()

Pointer to broken-down time

NULL

malloc()

Pointer to space

NULL

mblen(), s != NULL

Number of bytes

−1

mbrlen(), s != NULL

Number of bytes or status

(size_t)(-1)

mbrtoc16()

Number of bytes or status

(size_t)(-1), errno == EILSEQ

mbrtoc32()

Number of bytes or status

(size_t)(-1), errno == EILSEQ

mbrtowc(), s != NULL

Number of bytes or status

(size_t)(-1), errno == EILSEQ

mbsrtowcs()

Number of non-null elements

(size_t)(-1), errno == EILSEQ

mbsrtowcs_s()

0

Nonzero

mbstowcs()

Number of non-null elements

(size_t)(-1)

mbstowcs_s()

0

Nonzero

mbtowc(), s != NULL

Number of bytes

−1

memchr()

Pointer to located character

NULL

mktime()

Calendar time

(time_t)(-1)

mtx_init()

thrd_success

thrd_error

mtx_lock()

thrd_success

thrd_error

mtx_timedlock()

thrd_success

thrd_timedout or thrd_error

mtx_trylock()

thrd_success

thrd_busy or thrd_error

mtx_unlock()

thrd_success

thrd_error

printf_s()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

putc()

Character written

EOF1

putwc()

Wide character written

WEOF

raise()

0

Nonzero

realloc()

Pointer to space

NULL

remove()

0

Nonzero

rename()

0

Nonzero

setlocale()

Pointer to string

NULL

setvbuf()

0

Nonzero

scanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

scanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

signal()

Pointer to previous function

SIG_ERR, errno > 0

snprintf()

Number of characters that would be written (nonnegative)

Negative

snprintf_s()

Number of characters that would be written (nonnegative)

Negative

sprintf()

Number of non-null characters written

Negative

sprintf_s()

Number of non-null characters written

Negative

sscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

sscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

strchr()

Pointer to located character

NULL

strerror_s()

0

Nonzero

strftime()

Number of non-null characters

0

strpbrk()

Pointer to located character

NULL

strrchr()

Pointer to located character

NULL

strstr()

Pointer to located string

NULL

strtod()

Converted value

0, errno == ERANGE

strtof()

Converted value

0, errno == ERANGE

strtoimax()

Converted value

INTMAX_MAX or INTMAX_MIN, errno == ERANGE

strtok()

Pointer to first character of a token

NULL

strtok_s()

Pointer to first character of a token

NULL

strtol()

Converted value

LONG_MAX or LONG_MIN, errno == ERANGE

strtold()

Converted value

0, errno == ERANGE

strtoll()

Converted value

LLONG_MAX or LLONG_MIN, errno == ERANGE

strtoumax()

Converted value

UINTMAX_MAX, errno == ERANGE

strtoul()

Converted value

ULONG_MAX, errno == ERANGE

strtoull()

Converted value

ULLONG_MAX, errno == ERANGE

strxfrm()

Length of transformed string

>= n

swprintf()

Number of non-null wide characters

Negative

swprintf_s()

Number of non-null wide characters

Negative

swscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

swscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

thrd_create()

thrd_success

thrd_nomem or thrd_error

thrd_detach()

thrd_success

thrd_error

thrd_join()

thrd_success

thrd_error

thrd_sleep()

0

negative

time()

Calendar time

(time_t)(-1)

timespec_get()

Base

0

tmpfile()

Pointer to stream

NULL

tmpfile_s()

0

Nonzero

tmpnam()

Non-null pointer

NULL

tmpnam_s()

0

Nonzero

tss_create()

thrd_success

thrd_error

tss_get()

Value of thread-specific storage

0

tss_set()

thrd_success

thrd_error

ungetc()

Character pushed back

EOF (negative; see below)

ungetwc()

Character pushed back

WEOF (negative)

vfprintf()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vfprintf_s()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vfscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vfscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vfwprintf()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vfwprintf_s()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vfwscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vfwscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vprintf_s()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vsnprintf()

Number of characters that would be written (nonnegative)

Negative

vsnprintf_s()

Number of characters that would be written (nonnegative)

Negative

vsprintf()

Number of non-null characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vsprintf_s()

Number of non-null characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vsscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vsscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vswprintf()

Number of non-null wide characters

Negative

vswprintf_s()

Number of non-null wide characters

Negative

vswscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vswscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vwprintf_s()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vwscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

vwscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

wcrtomb()

Number of bytes stored

(size_t)(-1)

wcschr()

Pointer to located wide character

NULL

wcsftime()

Number of non-null wide characters

0

wcspbrk()

Pointer to located wide character

NULL

wcsrchr()

Pointer to located wide character

NULL

wcsrtombs()

Number of non-null bytes

(size_t)(-1), errno == EILSEQ

wcsrtombs_s()

0

Nonzero

wcsstr()

Pointer to located wide string

NULL

wcstod()

Converted value

0, errno == ERANGE

wcstof()

Converted value

0, errno == ERANGE

wcstoimax()

Converted value

INTMAX_MAX or INTMAX_MIN, errno == ERANGE

wcstok()

Pointer to first wide character of a token

NULL

wcstok_s()

Pointer to first wide character of a token

NULL

wcstol()

Converted value

LONG_MAX or LONG_MIN, errno == ERANGE

wcstold()

Converted value

0, errno == ERANGE

wcstoll()

Converted value

LLONG_MAX or LLONG_MIN, errno == ERANGE

wcstombs()

Number of non-null bytes

(size_t)(-1)

wcstombs_s()

0

Nonzero

wcstoumax()

Converted value

UINTMAX_MAX, errno == ERANGE

wcstoul()

Converted value

ULONG_MAX, errno == ERANGE

wcstoull()

Converted value

ULLONG_MAX, errno == ERANGE

wcsxfrm()

Length of transformed wide string

>= n

wctob()

Converted character

EOF

wctomb(), s != NULL

Number of bytes stored

−1

wctomb_s(), s != NULL

Number of bytes stored

−1

wctrans()

Valid argument to towctrans

0

wctype()

Valid argument to iswctype

0

wmemchr()

Pointer to located wide character

NULL

wprintf_s()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

wscanf()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

wscanf_s()

Number of conversions (nonnegative)

EOF (negative)

When FIO35-C. Use feof() and ferror() to detect end-of-file and file errors when sizeof(int) == sizeof(char) applies, callers shall determine the success or failure of the functions in this table as follows:

  1. By calling ferror
  2. By calling ferror and feof

The ungetc() function does not set the error indicator even when it fails, so it is not possible to check for errors reliably unless it is known that the argument is not equal to EOF. The C Standard [ISO/IEC 9899:2011] states that "one character of pushback is guaranteed," so this should not be an issue if at most one character is ever pushed back before reading again. (See FIO13-C. Never push back anything other than one read character.)

Noncompliant Code Example (setlocale())

In this noncompliant example, the function utf8_to_ucs() attempts to convert a sequence of UTF-8 characters to UCS. It first invokes setlocale() to set the global locale to "en_US.UTF-8" but does not check for failure. setlocale() will fail by returning a null pointer, for example, when the locale is not installed. (The function may fail for other reasons as well, such as the lack of resources.) Depending on the sequence of characters pointed to by utf8, the subsequent call to mbstowcs() may fail or result in the function storing an unexpected sequence of wide characters in the supplied buffer ucs.

size_t utf8_to_ucs(wchar_t *ucs, size_t n, const char *utf8) {
  setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "en_US.UTF-8");
  return mbstowcs(ucs, utf8, n);
}

Compliant Solution (setlocale())

A compliant solution checks the value returned by setlocale() and avoids calling mbstowcs() if the function fails. The function also takes care to restore the locale to its initial setting before returning control to the caller.

size_t utf8_to_ucs(wchar_t *ucs, size_t n, const char *utf8) {
  const char *save;
  save = setlocale(LC_CTYPE, "en_US.UTF-8");
  if (NULL == save) {
    /* Propagate error to caller */
    return (size_t)-1;
  }

  n = mbstowcs(ucs, utf8, n);
  if (NULL == setlocale(LC_CTYPE, save))
    n = -1;

  return n;
}

Noncompliant Code Example (signal())

In this noncompliant example, the function signal() is invoked to install a handler for the SIGINT signal. signal() returns a pointer to the previously installed handler on success and the value SIG_ERR on failure. However, because the caller fails to check for errors, when signal() fails, the function may proceed with the lengthy computation without the ability to interrupt it.

volatile sig_atomic_t interrupted;

void handle_interrupt(int signo) {
  interrupted = 1;
}

int f() {
  int result = 0;

  signal(SIGINT, handle_interrupt);

  while (0 == result && 0 == interrupted) {
    /* Perform a lengthy computation */
  }

  /* Indicate success or failure */
  return interrupted ? -1 : result;
}

Compliant Solution (signal())

A compliant solution checks the value returned by the signal() function and avoids performing the lengthy computation when signal() fails. The calling function also takes care to restore the disposition for the SIGINT signal to its initial setting before returning control to the caller.

volatile sig_atomic_t interrupted;

void handle_interrupt(int signo) {
  interrupted = 1;
}

int f() {
  int result = 0;
  void (*saved_handler)(int);
  saved_handler = signal(SIGINT, handle_interrupt);

  if (SIG_ERR == saved_handler) {
    /* Indicate failure */
    return -1;
  }

  while (0 == result && 0 == interrupted) {
    /* Perform a lengthy computation */
  }

  if (SIG_ERR == signal(SIGINT, saved_handler))
    return -1;

  /* Indicate success or failure */
  return interrupted ? -1 : result;
}

Noncompliant Code Example (malloc())

In this noncompliant code example, temp_num, tmp2, and num_of_records are under the control of a malicious user. The attacker can easily cause malloc() to fail by providing a large value for num_of_records

signal_info * start = malloc(num_of_records * sizeof(signal_info));
signal_info * point = (signal_info *)start;
point = start + temp_num - 1; 
memcpy(point->sig_desc, tmp2, strlen(tmp2));
/* ... */ 

When malloc() fails, it returns a null pointer that is assigned to start. If start is a null, an attacker can provide a value for temp_num that, when scaled by the the sizeof signal_info, references a writable address to which control is eventually transferred. The contents of the string referenced by tmp2 can then be used to overwrite the address, resulting in an arbitrary code execution vulnerability.

Compliant Solution (malloc())

To correct this error, ensure the pointer returned by malloc() is not null. This also ensures compliance with MEM32-C. Detect and handle memory allocation errors.

signal_info * start = malloc(num_of_records * sizeof(signal_info));
if (start == NULL) {
  /* Handle allocation error */
}
signal_info * point = (signal_info *)start;
point = start + temp_num - 1; 
memcpy(point->sig_desc, tmp2, strlen(tmp2));
/* ... */ 

Noncompliant Code Example (malloc())

In this noncompliant code example, input_string is copied into dynamically allocated memory referenced by str. However, the result of malloc() is not checked before str is referenced. Consequently, if malloc() fails, the program has undefined behavior. (See undefined behavior 109 in Annex J of the C Standard.) In practice, an abnormal termination of the process typically occurs, providing an opportunity for a denial-of-service attack. In some cases, it may be the source of other vulnerabilities, as well. (See the Related Vulnerabilities section.) See also MEM32-C. Detect and handle memory allocation errors.

void f(char *input_string) {
  size_t size = strlen(input_string) + 1;
  char *str = (char *)malloc(size);
  strcpy(str, input_string);
  /* ... */
}

Compliant Solution (malloc())

The malloc() function, as well as the other memory allocation functions, returns either a null pointer or a pointer to the allocated space. Always test the returned pointer to ensure it is not null before referencing the pointer. Handle the error condition appropriately when the returned pointer is null. When recovery from the allocation failure is not possible, propagate the failure to the caller.

int f(char *input_string) {
  size_t size = strlen(input_string) + 1;
  char *str = (char *)malloc(size);
  if (str == NULL) {
    /* Handle allocation failure and return error status */
    return -1;
  }
  strcpy(str, input_string);
  /* ... */
  free(str);
  return 0;
}

Noncompliant Code Example (realloc())

This noncompliant code example calls realloc() to resize the memory referred to by p. However, if realloc() fails, it returns a null pointer. Consequently, the connection between the original block of memory and p is severed, resulting in a memory leak.

void *p;
size_t new_size = /* nonzero size */;

p = realloc(p, new_size);
if (p == NULL)   {
 /* Handle error */
}

When using realloc(), it is important to account for 0-byte allocations. (See MEM04-C. Do not perform zero-length allocations.)

Compliant Solution (realloc())

In this compliant solution, the result of realloc() is assigned to the temporary pointer q and validated before it is assigned to the original pointer p.

void *p;
void *q;
size_t new_size= /* nonzero size */;

q = realloc(p, new_size);
if (q == NULL)   {
 /* Handle error */
}
else {
  p = q;
}

Noncompliant Code Example (fseek())

In this noncompliant code example, the fseek() function is used to set the file position to a location offset in the file referred to by file prior to reading a sequence of bytes from the file. However, if an I/O error occurs during the seek operation the subsequent read will fill the buffer with the wrong contents.

size_t read_at(FILE *file, long offset, void *buf, size_t nbytes) {
  fseek(file, offset, SEEK_SET);
  return fread(buf, 1, nbytes, file);
}

Compliant Solution (fseek())

According to the C Standard, the fseek() function returns a nonzero value to indicate that an error occurred. Testing for this condition before proceeding to read from the file eliminates the chance of operating on the wrong portion of the file if fseek() failed. Always test the returned value to make sure an error did not occur before operating on the file. If an error does occur, handle it appropriately.

size_t read_at(FILE *file, long offset, void *buf, size_t nbytes) {
  if (fseek(file, offset, SEEK_SET) != 0) {
    /* Indicate error to caller */
    return 0;
  }
  return fread(buf, 1, nbytes, file);
}

Noncompliant Code Example (snprintf())

In the following noncompliant code example, snprinf() is assumed to succeed. However, if the call fails (for example, because of insufficient memory, as described in GNU libc bug 441945), the subsequent call to log_message() is likely to result in undefined behavior since the character buffer is not initialized and need not be null-terminated.

extern void log_message(const char*);

void f(int i, int width, int prec) {
  char buf[40];
  snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "i = %*.*i", width, prec, i);
  log_message(buf);
  /* ... */
}

Compliant Solution (snprintf())

A compliant solution avoids assuming that snprintf() succeeds regardless of its arguments and tests the return value of the function before using the buffer the function was passed to format output into. In addition, a compliant solution takes care to null-terminate the formatted string in case the provided buffer wasn't large enough for snprintf() to append the terminating null.

extern void log_message(const char*);

void f(int i, int width, int prec) {
  char buf[40];
  int n;
  n = snprintf(buf, sizeof buf, "i = %*.*i", width, prec, i);
  if (n < 0) {
    /* Handle snprintf() error */
    strcpy(buf, "unknown error");
  }

  /* Null-terminate buffer in case of overflow */
  buf[sizeof buf - 1] = '\0';    
  log_message(buf);
}

When the length of the formatted string is unbounded, it is best to invoke the function twice, once with a NULL buffer to determine the size of output, then dynamically allocate a buffer of sufficient size, and finally call snprintf() again to format the output into the dynamically allocated buffer. Even with this approach the success of all calls still needs to be tested, and any errors still need to be appropriately handled. A possible optimization is to first attempt to format the string into a reasonably small buffer allocated on the stack and only when the buffer turns out to be too small allocate one of a sufficient size dynamically. This approach is shown in the following compliant solution.

void f(int i, int width, int prec) {
  char buffer[20];
  char *buf = buffer;
  int n  = sizeof buffer;
  const char fmt[] = "i = %*.*i";

  n = snprintf(buf, n, fmt, width, prec, i);
  if (n < 0) {
    /* Handle snprintf() error */
    strcpy(buffer, "unknown error");
    goto write_log;
  }

  if (n < sizeof buffer)
    goto write_log;

  buf = (char*)malloc(n + 1);
  if (NULL == buf) {
    /* Handle malloc() error */
    strcpy(buffer, "unknown error");
    goto write_log;
  }

  n = snprintf(buf, n, fmt, width, prec, i);
  if (n < 0) {
    /* Handle snprintf() error */
    strcpy(buffer, "unknown error");
  }

write_log:
  log_message(buf);

  if (buf != buffer)
    free(buf);
}

Note that this solution correctly handles memory allocation errors in accordance with MEM32-C. Detect and handle memory allocation errors and uses the goto statement as suggested in MEM12-C. Consider using a Goto-Chain when leaving a function on error when using and releasing resources.

Implementation Details

POSIX

In addition to the C standard library functions mentioned earlier, the following functions defined in POSIX require error checking (list is not all-inclusive).

Function

Successful Return

Error Return

errno

fmemopen()

Pointer to a FILE object

NULL

ENOMEM

open_memstream()

Pointer to a FILE object

NULL

ENOMEM

posix_memalign()

0

Nonzero

Unchanged

Setting errno is a POSIX [ISO/IEC 9945:2008] extension to the C Standard.  On error, posix_memalign() returns a value that corresponds to one of the constants defined in the <errno.h> header. The function does not set errno. The posix_memalign() function is optional and is not required to be provided by POSIX-conforming implementations.

Noncompliant Code Example (POSIX)

In the following noncompliant code example, fmemopen() and open_memstream() are assumed to succeed. However, if the calls fail, the two file pointers in and out will be null and the program will have undefined behavior.

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
FILE *out, *in;
 
if (argc != 2) {
	/* Handle error */
}
 
in = fmemopen(argv[1], strlen(argv[1]), "r"); /* violation */
/* Use in */
 
out = open_memstream(&ptr, &size); /* violation */
/* Use out */
 
}

Compliant Solution (POSIX)

A compliant solution avoids assuming that fmemopen() and open_memstream() succeed regardless of its arguments and tests the return value of the function before using the file pointers in and out.

int main(int argc, char *argv[])
{
FILE *out, *in;
 
if (argc != 2) {
	/* Handle error */
}
 
in = fmemopen(argv[1], strlen(argv[1]), "r");


if (in == NULL){
	/* Handle error */
}
/* Use in */
 
out = open_memstream(&ptr, &size);

if (out == NULL){
	/* Handle error */

}
/* Use out */
 
}

Exceptions

EXP12-EX1: The exception from EXP12-C. Do not ignore values returned by functions still applies. If the return value is inconsequential or if any errors can be safely ignored, such as for functions called because of their side effects, the function should be explicitly cast to void to signify programmer intent. For an example of this exception, see "Compliant Solution (Remove Existing Destination File)" under "Portable Behavior" in FIO10-C. Take care when using the rename() function.

ERR33-EX1: Ignore the return value of a function that cannot fail or whose return value cannot signify an error condition need not be diagnosed. For example, strcpy() is one such function.

Return values from the following functions do not need to be checked because their historical use has overwhelmingly omitted error checking, and the consequences are not relevant to security.

Function

Successful Return

Error Return

printf()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

putchar()

Character written

EOF

puts()

Nonnegative

EOF (negative)

putwchar()

Wide character written

WEOF

vprintf()

Number of characters (nonnegative)

Negative

vwprintf()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

wprintf()

Number of wide characters (nonnegative)

Negative

Risk Assessment

Failing to detect error conditions can lead to unpredictable results, including abnormal program termination and denial-of-service attacks or, in some situations, could even allow an attacker to run arbitrary code.

Rule

Severity

Likelihood

Remediation Cost

Priority

Level

ERR33-C

high

likely

medium

P18

L1

Automated Detection

Tool

Version

Checker

Description

Compass/ROSE

  

Can detect violations of this recommendation when checking for violations of EXP12-C. Do not ignore values returned by functions and EXP34-C. Do not dereference null pointers.

Coverity

2017.07

CHECKED_RETURN

Finds inconsistencies in how function call return values are handled. Coverity Prevent cannot discover all violations of this recommendation, so further verification is necessary.

Fortify SCA

5.0

 

 

LDRA tool suite

9.7.1

80 D

Partially implemented.
PRQA QA-C
Unable to render {include} The included page could not be found.

3200

Partially implemented.

Related Coding Practices

Related Vulnerabilities

The vulnerability in Adobe Flash [VU#159523] arises because Flash neglects to check the return value from calloc(). Even when calloc() returns NULL, Flash writes to an offset from the return value. Dereferencing NULL usually results in a program crash, but dereferencing an offset from NULL allows an exploit to succeed without crashing the program.

Search for vulnerabilities resulting from the violation of this rule on the CERT website.

Related Guidelines

CERT C++ Secure Coding StandardERR10-CPP. Check for error conditions
FIO04-CPP. Detect and handle input and output errors
ISO/IEC TR 17961 (Draft)Failing to detect and handle standard library errors [liberr]
MITRE CWECWE-252, Unchecked return value
CWE-253, Incorrect check of function return value
CWE-390, Detection of error condition without action
CWE-391, Unchecked error condition

Bibliography

[DHS 2006]Handle All Errors Safely
[Henricson 1997]Recommendation 12.1, "Check for All Errors Reported from Functions"
[ISO/IEC 9899:2011]Section 7.21.7.10, "The ungetc Function"

 

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