SEI CERT C Coding Standard

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C programmers commonly make errors regarding the precedence rules of C operators due to the unintuitive low-precedence levels of &, |, ^, <<, and >>. Mistakes regarding precedence rules can be avoided by the suitable use of parentheses. Using parentheses defensively reduces errors and, if not taken to excess, makes the code more readable.

Wiki Markup
Section 6.5 of \[[ISO/IEC 9899:1999|AA. C References#ISO/IEC 9899-1999]\] (C99) defines the precedence of operation by the order of the subclauses.

Noncompliant Code Example

The intent of the expression in this noncompliant code example is to test the least significant bit of x.

Code Block
bgColor#FFCCCC
x & 1 == 0

Because of operator precedence rules, the expression is parsed as

Code Block
bgColor#FFCCCC
x & (1 == 0)

which evaluates to

Code Block
bgColor#FFCCCC
(x & 0)

and then to 0.

Compliant Solution

In this compliant solution, parentheses are used to ensure the expression evaluates as expected.

Code Block
bgColor#ccccff
(x & 1) == 0

Exceptions

EXP00-EX1: Mathematical expressions that follow algebraic order do not require parentheses. For instance, in the expression

Code Block
x + y * z

the multiplication is performed before the addition by mathematical convention. Consequently, parentheses to enforce this would be redundant.

Code Block
bgColor#ffcccc
x + (y * z)

Risk Assessment

Mistakes regarding precedence rules may cause an expression to be evaluated in an unintended way. This can lead to unexpected and abnormal program behavior.

Recommendation

Severity

Likelihood

Remediation Cost

Priority

Level

EXP00-C

low

probable

medium

P4

L3

Automated Detection

The LDRA tool suite V 7.6.0 can detect violations of this recommendation.

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Other Languages

This rule appears in the C++ Secure Coding Standard as EXP00-CPP. Use parentheses for precedence of operation.

References

Wiki Markup
\[[Dowd 06|AA. C References#Dowd 06]\] Chapter 6, "C Language Issues" (Precedence, pp. 287&mdash;288)
\[[ISO/IEC 9899:1999|AA. C References#ISO/IEC 9899-1999]\] Section 6.5, "Expressions"
\[[ISO/IEC PDTR 24772|AA. C References#ISO/IEC PDTR 24772]\] "JCW Operator precedence/Order of Evaluation"
\[[Kernighan 88|AA. C References#Kernighan 88]\] 
\[[MISRA 04|AA. C References#MISRA 04]\] Rule 12.1
\[[NASA-GB-1740.13|AA. C References#NASA-GB-1740.13]\] Section 6.4.3, "C Language"

03. Expressions (EXP)      03. Expressions (EXP)       EXP01-C. Do not take the size of a pointer to determine the size of the pointed-to type