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If something_really_bad_happens in g(), the function prints an error message to stderr and then calls abort(). The problem is that this application-independent code does not know the context in which it is being called, so it is erroneous to handle the error.

“Smart Libraries,” Practice 23 [Miller 2004], says:

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Source and object code can significantly increase in size, perhaps some sources suggest by as much as 30 as 30 to 40 percent [Saks 2007b].
All function return values must be checked (see ERR33-C. Detect and handle standard library errors).
Functions should not return other values if they return error indicators (see ERR02-C. Avoid in-band error indicators).
Any function that allocates resources must ensure they are freed in cases where errors occur.

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The following table summarizes the characteristics of error-reporting and error-detection mechanisms.

Method	Code Increase	Manages Allocated Resources	Automatically Enforceable
Return value	Big (30–40%)	No	Yes
Address argument	Bigger	No	No
Global indicator	Medium	No	Yes
`longjmp()`	Small	No	n/a

Risk Assessment

Lack of an error-detection mechanism prevents applications from knowing when an error has disrupted normal program behavior.

Recommendation	Severity	Likelihood

Remediation Cost

Detectable	Repairable	Priority	Level
ERR05-C	Medium	Probable	Yes

High

No

P4

P8

L3

L2

Automated Detection

Tool	Version	Checker	Description
Compass/ROSE

		Could detect violations of this rule merely by reporting functions that call `abort()`, `exit()`, or `_Exit()` inside an `if` or `switch` statement. This would also catch many false positives, as ROSE could not distinguish a library function from an application function
Parasoft C/C++test

9.5MISRA2012-RULE-21_8Use of getenv(), abort(), exit() and system()

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	Parasoft_V

CERT_C-ERR05-a
CERT_C-ERR05-b
CERT_C-ERR05-c

The 'abort()' function from the 'stdlib.h' or 'cstdlib' library shall not be used
The 'exit()' function from the 'stdlib.h' or 'cstdlib' library shall not be used
The 'quick_exit()' and '_Exit()' functions from the 'stdlib.h' or 'cstdlib' library shall not be u

Security Reviewer - Static Reviewer

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