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Because malloc() is only called if p is NULL when entering the if clause, free() might be called with a pointer to local data not allocated by malloc(). (see See guideline MEM34-C. Only free memory allocated dynamically.) . This is partially due to the uncertainty of whether malloc() is actually called or not.

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Automated Detection

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Tool	Version	Checker	Description
Section LDRA tool suite

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	Include Page c:LDRA_V c:LDRA_V
Section Compass/ROSE			Section could detect possible violations of this recommendation by reporting expressions with side effects, including function calls, that appear on the right-hand-side of an && or || operator.

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Other Languages

Related Guidelines

This rule appears in the C++ Secure Coding Standard as : EXP02-CPP. Be aware of the short-circuit behavior of the logical AND and OR operators.

Bibliography

\[[CWE|AA. Bibliography#CWE]\] [CWE-768|http://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/768.html]: Incorrect Short Circuit Evaluation
\[[ISO/IEC 9899:1999|AA. Bibliography#ISO/IEC 9899-1999]\] Section 6.5.13, "Logical AND operator," and Section 6.5.14, "Logical OR operator"

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