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mytypedef_t x;
uintmax_t temp;

temp = x; /* Always secure if mytypedef_t is unsigned*/

/* ... Change the value of temp ... */

if (temp <= MYTYPEDEF_MAX) {
  x = temp;
}

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#include <stdio.h>
#include <inttypes.h>

mytypedef_t x;

/* ... */

#ifdef _MSC_VER
  printf("%llu", (uintmax_t) x);
#else
  printf("%ju", (uintmax_t) x);
#endif  

Microsoft A feature request has been submitted a feature request to Microsoft to add support for the j length modifier to a future release of Microsoft Visual Studio.

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This noncompliant code example can result in a buffer overflow if the size of mytypedef_t is smaller than unsigned long long, or it might result in an incorrect value if the size of mytypedef_t is larger than unsigned long long.  Moreover, scanf() lacks the error checking capabilities of alternative conversion routines, such as strtol(). For more information, see INT06-C. Use strtol() or a related function to convert a string token to an integer).

Compliant Solution (strtoumax())

This compliant solution guarantees that a correct value in the range of mytypedef_t is read, or an error condition is detected, assuming the value of MYTYPEDEF_MAX is correct as the largest value representable by mytypedef_t:  The strtoumax() function is used instead of scanf() as it provides enhanced error checking functionality.  The fgets() function is used to read input from stdin.

#include <stdio.h>
#include <inttypes.h>
#inc #include <errno.h> 

mytypedef_t x;
uintmax_t temp;

/* ... */
if (fgets(buff, sizeof(buff), stdin) == NULL) {
  if (puts("EOF or read error\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
} else {
  /* Check for errors in the conversion */
  errno = 0;
  temp = strtoumax(buff, &end_ptr, 10);
  if (ERANGE == errno) {
    if (puts("number out of range\n") == EOF) {
      /* Handle error */
    } 
  }
  else if (end_ptr == buff) {
    if (puts("not valid numeric input\n") == EOF) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  }
  else if ('\n' != *end_ptr && '\0' != *end_ptr) {
    if (puts("extra characters on input line\n") == EOF) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  }
  
  /* No conversion errors, attempt to store the converted value into x */
  if (temp > MYTYPEDEF_MAX) {
    /* Handle error */
  } else {
    x = temp;
  }
}

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Failure to use an appropriate conversion specifier when inputting or outputting programmer-defined integer types can result in buffer overflow and lost or misinterpreted data.

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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