Do not use the assignment operator in the outermost expression of a selection statement (an if or switch) statement or an iteration a looping statement (while, do, or for) because this typically indicates programmer error and can result in unexpected behavior.
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While the intent of the code may be to assign b to a and test the value of the result for equality to zero, it is very frequently a case of the programmer mistakenly using the assignment operator = instead of the equals operator ==. Consequently, many compilers will warn about this condition making this coding error detectable by adhering to recommendation MSC00-C. Compile cleanly at high warning levels.
Compliant Solution
When the assignment of b to a is not intended, this conditional block is now executed when a is equal to b.
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if ((a = b) !== 0true) { /* ... */ } |
It is less desirable in general, depending on what was intended because it mixes the assignment in the condition, but it is clear that the programmer intended the assignment to occur.
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Recommendation | Severity | Likelihood | Remediation Cost | Priority | Level |
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EXP18 EXP04-C J | low | likely | medium | P6 | L2 |
Automated Detection
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| Include Page | java:LDRA_V | java:LDRA_V |
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| Include Page | java:GCC_V | java:GCC_V |
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can detect violations of this recommendation when the | |||||||||||||||
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| Include Page | java:Klocwork_V | java:Klocwork_V |
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Related
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Search for vulnerabilities resulting from the violation of this rule on the CERT website.
Related Guidelines
CERT C++ Secure Coding Standard: EXP19-CPP. Do not perform assignments in conditional expressions
CERT C Secure Coding Standard: EXP18-C. Do not perform assignments in conditional expressions
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