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As a result, objects of type T with automatic or dynamic storage duration must be explicitly initialized before having their value read as part of an expression unless T is a class type or an array thereof or is an unsigned narrow character type. If T is an unsigned narrow character type, it may be used to initialize an object of unsigned narrow character type, which results in both objects having an indeterminate value. This technique can be used to implement copy operations such as std::memcpy() without triggering undefined behavior.

Additionally, memory dynamically allocated with a  new expression is default-initialized when the  new-initialized is omitted. Memory allocated by the standard library function  std::calloc() is zero-initialized. Memory allocated by the standard library function  std::realloc() assumes the values of the original pointer but may not initialize the full range of memory. Memory allocated by any other means ( std::malloc(), allocator objects,  operator new(), and so on) is assumed to be default-initialized.

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Reading uninitialized variables for creating entropy is problematic because these memory accesses can be removed by compiler optimization.  VU925211  is is an example of a vulnerability  caused caused by this coding error [VU#925211].

Noncompliant Code Example

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Initialization of an object produced by a new-expression is performed by placing (possibly empty) parenthesis or curly braces after the type being allocated. As seen in the following example, this This causes direct initialization of the pointed-to object to occur, which will zero-initialize the object if the initialization omits a value, as illustrated by the following code.

int *i = new int(); // zero-initializes *i
int *j = new int{}; // zero-initializes *j
int *k = new int(12); // initializes *k to 12
int *l = new int{12}; // initializes *l to 12

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Reading uninitialized variables is undefined behavior and can result in unexpected program behavior. In some cases, these security flaws may allow the execution of arbitrary code.

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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