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Bit-fields can be used to allow flags or other integer values with small ranges to be packed together to save storage space.

It is implementation-defined whether the specifier int designates the same type as signed int or the same type as unsigned int for bit fields. According to the C standard [ISO/IEC 9899:2011], C integer promotions also require that "if an int can represent all values of the original type (as restricted by the width, for a bit-field), the value is converted to an int; otherwise, it is converted to an unsigned int."

This issue is similar to the signedness of plain char, discussed in INT07-C. Use only explicitly signed or unsigned char type for numeric values. A plain int bit-field that is treated as unsigned will promote to int as long as its field width is less than that of int because int can hold all values of the original type. This is the same behavior as that of a plain char treated as unsigned. However, a plain int bit-field treated as unsigned will promote to unsigned int if its field width is the same as that of int. This difference makes a plain int bit-field even trickier than a plain char.

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Related Vulnerabilities

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ISO/IEC 9899:2011 Section 6.3.1.1, "Boolean, characters, and integers," and Section 6.7.2, "Type specifiers"

ISO/IEC TR 24772 "STR Bit representations"

MISRA Rule 12.7

Bibliography

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