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When calling num_get<>::get(), information about conversion errors is returned to the caller through the ios_base::iostate& argument. The C++ Standard, section [facet.num.get.virtuals], paragraph 3 states, in part 3 [ISO/IEC 14882-2014], in part, states the following:
If the conversion function fails to convert the entire field, or if the field represents a value outside the range of representable values,
ios_base::failbitis assigned toerr.
Always explicitly check the error state of a conversion from string to a numeric value (or handle the related exception, if applicable) instead of assuming the conversion results in a valid value. This rule is in addition to ERR34-C. Detect errors when converting a string to a number, which bans the use of conversion functions that do not perform conversion validation such as std::atoi() and std::scanf() from the C Standard Library.
Noncompliant Code Example
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In this compliant solution, each converted value read from the standard input stream is tested for validity before reading the next value in the sequence, allowing error recovery on a per-value basis. It checks std::istream::fail() to see if the failure bit was set due to a conversion failure or whether the bad bit was set due to a loss of integrity with the stream object. If a failure condition is encountered, it is cleared on the input stream and then characters are read and discarded until a ' ' (space) character occurs. Note that the The error handling in this case only works if a space character is what delimits the two numeric values to be converted.
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It is rare for a violation of this rule to result in a security vulnerability unless it occurs in security-sensitive code. However, violations of this rule can easily result in lost or misinterpreted data.
Rule | Severity | Likelihood | Remediation Cost | Priority | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ERR62-CPP | Medium | Unlikely | Medium | P4 | L3 |
Automated Detection
Tool | Version | Checker | Description | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Axivion Bauhaus Suite |
| CertC++-ERR62 | |||||||
|
| Checked by clang-tidy; only identifies use of unsafe C Standard Library functions corresponding to ERR34-C | ||||||||
| CodeSonar |
| BADFUNC.ATOF | Use of atof | ||||||
| Helix QAC |
| C++3161 | |||||||
| Klocwork |
| CERT.ERR.CONV.STR_TO_NUM | |||||||
| Parasoft C/C++test |
| CERT_CPP-ERR62-a | The library functions atof, atoi and atol from library stdlib.h shall not be used | ||||||
| Polyspace Bug Finder |
| CERT C++: ERR62-CPP | Checks for unvalidated string-to-number conversion (rule fully covered) |
Related Vulnerabilities
Search for other vulnerabilities resulting from the violation of this rule on the CERT website.
Related Guidelines
| SEI CERT C Coding Standard | |
| MITRE CWE | CWE-676, Use of potentially dangerous function CWE-20, Insufficient input validation |
Bibliography
| [ISO/IEC 9899:1999] | Subclause 7.22.1, "Numeric conversion functions" Subclause 7.21.6, "Formatted input/output functions" |
| [ISO/IEC 14882-2014] | Subclause 22.4.2.1.1, "num_get members" |
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