Division and modulo operations are susceptible to divide-by-zero errors. 

C identifies two conditions under which division and modulo operations result in undefined behavior:

Division

The result of the / operator is the quotient from the division of the first arithmetic operand by the second arithmetic operand. Division operations are susceptible to divide-by-zero errors. Overflow can also occur during two's complement signed integer division when the dividend is equal to the minimum (negative) value for the signed integer type and the divisor is equal to −1. (See INT32-C. Ensure that operations on signed integers do not result in overflow.)

Noncompliant Code Example

This noncompliant code example can result in a divide-by-zero error during the division of the signed operands s_a and s_b:

signed long s_a;
signed long s_b;
signed long result;

void func(void) {
  /* Initialize s_a and s_b */
  result = s_a / s_b;

  /* ... */
}

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution tests the suspect division operation to guarantee there is no possibility of divide-by-zero errors or signed overflow:

#include <limits.h>
 
signed long s_a;
signed long s_b;
signed long result;

void func(void) {
  /* Initialize s_a, s_b and result*/

  if ( (s_b == 0) || ( (s_a == LONG_MIN) && (s_b == -1) ) ) {
    /* Handle error condition */
  } else {
    result = s_a / s_b;
  }

  /* ... */
}

Modulo

The modulo operator provides the remainder when two operands of integer type are divided.

Noncompliant Code Example

This noncompliant code example can result in a divide-by-zero error during the modulo operation on the signed operands s_a and s_b:

signed long s_a;
signed long s_b;
signed long result;

void func(void) {
  /* Initialize s_a and s_b */
  result = s_a % s_b;

  /* ... */
}

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution tests the suspect modulo operation to guarantee there is no possibility of a divide-by-zero error or an overflow error:

#include <limits.h>
 
signed long s_a;
signed long s_b;
signed long result;

void func(void) {
  /* Initialize s_a, s_b and result*/

  if ( (s_b == 0 ) || ( (s_a == LONG_MIN) && (s_b == -1) ) ) {
    /* Handle error condition */
  } else {
    result = s_a % s_b;
  }

}

Risk Assessment

A divide by zero can result in abnormal program termination and denial of service.

Automated Detection

Tool	Version	Checker	Description
Compass/ROSE			Can detect some violations of this rule. In particular, it ensures that all operations involving division or modulo are preceded by a check ensuring that the second operand is nonzero
Coverity	6.5	DIVIDE_BY_ZERO	Fully Implemented
Fortify SCA	5.0		Can detect violations of this rule with CERT C Rule Pack
LDRA tool suite		43 D 248 S	Partially implemented
PRQA QA-C		2830 (C) 2831 (D) 2832 (A) 2833 (S) 2834 (P)	Fully implemented

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Related Guidelines

Bibliography