SEI CERT C Coding Standard

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Dereferencing a null pointer is undefined behavior, typically abnormal program termination. In some situations, however, dereferencing a null pointer can lead to the execution of arbitrary code [Jack 2007, van Sprundel 2006]. The indicated severity is for this more severe case; on platforms where it is not possible to exploit a null pointer dereference to execute arbitrary code, the actual severity is low.

Rule

Severity

Likelihood

Detectable

RepairableRemediation Cost

Priority

Level

EXP34-C

High

Likely

No

MediumYes

P18

L1

Automated Detection

ToolVersionCheckerDescription
Astrée
Include Page
Astrée_V
Astrée_V
null-dereferencingFully checked
Axivion Bauhaus Suite

Include Page
Axivion Bauhaus Suite_V
Axivion Bauhaus Suite_V

CertC-EXP34
CodeSonar
Include Page
CodeSonar_V
CodeSonar_V

LANG.MEM.NPD
LANG.STRUCT.NTAD
LANG.STRUCT.UPD

Null pointer dereference
Null test after dereference
Unchecked parameter dereference

Compass/ROSE

Can detect violations of this rule. In particular, ROSE ensures that any pointer returned by malloc(), calloc(), or realloc() is first checked for NULL before being used (otherwise, it is free()-ed). ROSE does not handle cases where an allocation is assigned to an lvalue that is not a variable (such as a struct member or C++ function call returning a reference)

Coverity


Include Page
Coverity_V
Coverity_V

CHECKED_RETURN

NULL_RETURNS

REVERSE_INULL

FORWARD_NULL

Finds instances where a pointer is checked against NULL and then later dereferenced

Identifies functions that can return a null pointer but are not checked

Identifies code that dereferences a pointer and then checks the pointer against NULL

Can find the instances where NULL is explicitly dereferenced or a pointer is checked against NULL but then dereferenced anyway. Coverity Prevent cannot discover all violations of this rule, so further verification is necessary

Cppcheck
Include Page
Cppcheck_V
Cppcheck_V
nullPointer, nullPointerDefaultArg, nullPointerRedundantCheck


Cppcheck Premium

Include Page
Cppcheck Premium_V
Cppcheck Premium_V

nullPointer, nullPointerDefaultArg, nullPointerRedundantCheck

Context sensitive analysis

Detects when NULL is dereferenced (Array of pointers is not checked. Pointer members in structs are not checked.)

Finds instances where a pointer is checked against NULL and then later dereferenced

Identifies code that dereferences a pointer and then checks the pointer against NULL

Does not guess that return values from malloc(), strchr(), etc., can be NULL (The return value from malloc() is NULL only if there is OOMo and the dev might not care to handle that. The return value from strchr() is often NULL, but the dev might know that a specific strchr() function call will not return NULL.)


Helix QAC

Include Page
Helix QAC_V
Helix QAC_V

DF2810, DF2811, DF2812, DF2813

Fully implemented
Klocwork
Include Page
Klocwork_V
Klocwork_V

NPD.CHECK.CALL.MIGHT
NPD.CHECK.CALL.MUST
NPD.CHECK.MIGHT
NPD.CHECK.MUST
NPD.CONST.CALL
NPD.CONST.DEREF
NPD.FUNC.CALL.MIGHT
NPD.FUNC.CALL.MUST
NPD.FUNC.MIGHT
NPD.FUNC.MUST
NPD.GEN.CALL.MIGHT
NPD.GEN.CALL.MUST
NPD.GEN.MIGHT
NPD.GEN.MUST
RNPD.CALL
RNPD.DEREF

Fully implemented
LDRA tool suite
Include Page
LDRA_V
LDRA_V

45 D, 123 D, 128 D, 129 D, 130 D, 131 D, 652 S

Fully implemented
Parasoft C/C++test
Include Page
Parasoft_V
Parasoft_V

CERT_C-EXP34-a

Avoid null pointer dereferencing

Parasoft Insure++

Runtime analysis
PC-lint Plus

Include Page
PC-lint Plus_V
PC-lint Plus_V

413, 418, 444, 613, 668

Partially supported

Polyspace Bug Finder

Include Page
Polyspace Bug Finder_V
Polyspace Bug Finder_V

CERT C: Rule EXP34-C


Checks for use of null pointers (rule partially covered)

PVS-Studio

Include Page
PVS-Studio_V
PVS-Studio_V

V522, V595, V664, V713, V1004
Security Reviewer - Static Reviewer

Include Page
Security Reviewer - Static Reviewer_V
Security Reviewer - Static Reviewer_V

C64
C65
C66		Fully implemented
SonarQube C/C++ Plugin
Include Page
SonarQube C/C++ Plugin_V
SonarQube C/C++ Plugin_V
S2259
Splint
Include Page
Splint_V
Splint_V


TrustInSoft Analyzer

Include Page
TrustInSoft Analyzer_V
TrustInSoft Analyzer_V

mem_accessExhaustively verified (see one compliant and one non-compliant example).

Related Vulnerabilities

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

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EXP34-C is a common consequence of ignoring function return values, but it is a distinct error, and can occur in other scenarios too.

BibliographyBibliography 

[Goodin 2009]
[Jack 2007]
[Liu 2009]
[van Sprundel 2006]
[Viega 2005]Section 5.2.18, "Null-Pointer Dereference"

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