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For example, in C++03, std::auto_ptr had the following copy operation signatures [ISO/IEC 14882-2003]:

Both copy construction and copy assignment would mutate the source argument, A, by effectively calling this->reset(A.release()). However, this invalidated assumptions made by standard library algorithms such as std::sort(), which may need to make a copy of an object for later comparisons [Hinnant 05]. Consider the following implementation of std::sort() that implements the quick sort algorithm.

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#include <algorithm>
#include <vector>

class A {
  int m;
  
public:
  A() : m(0) {}
  explicit A(int m) : m(m) {}
  
  A(const A &other) : m(other.m) {}
  A(A &&other) : m(other.m) { other.m = 0; }
  
  A& operator=(const A &other) {
    if (&other != this) {
      m = other.m;
    }
    return *this;
  }
 
  A& operator=(A &&other) {
    m = other.m;
    other.m = 0;
    return *this;
  }
  
  int get_m() const { return m; }
};

void f() {
  std::vector<A> v{10};
  A obj(12);
  std::fill(v.begin(), v.end(), obj);
}

Exceptions

OOP58-CPP-EX0: Reference counting, and implementations such as std::shared_ptr<> constitute an exception to this rule. Any copy or assignment operation of a reference-counted object requires the reference count to be incremented. The semantics of reference counting are well-understood, and it can be argued that the reference count is not a salient part of the shared_pointer object.

Risk Assessment

Copy operations that mutate the source operand or global state can lead to unexpected program behavior. Using such a type in a Standard Template Library container or algorithm can also lead to undefined behavior.

Automated Detection

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Related Guidelines

Bibliography

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