Page History

...

Non-compliant Example

In this example, input_stringstr is copied into dynamically allocated memory referenced by str. If malloc() }} fails, it returns an invalid (null) pointer that is assigned to {{str. When str is dereferenced in strcpy(), the program behave in an unpredictable manner.

...

char *str = malloc(size_of_input_str);
strcpy(str, input); 
...

Compliant Solution

To correct this error, ensure the pointer returned by malloc() is not invalid (null). In addition to this rule, this should be done in accordance with rule MEM32-C. Detect and handle critical memory allocation errors.

char *str = malloc(strlen(size_of_input_stringstr)+1);
if (str == NULL) {
  /* Handle Allocation Error */
}
strcpy(str, input_stringstr);

Priority and Level

Dereferencing null pointers typically results in a denial of service condition.

...