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The Win32 SDK headers make use of type definitions for most of the types involved in Win32 APIs, but the following this noncompliant solution code example demonstrates a const-correctness bug:
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Note that many structures in the Win32 API are declared with pointer type definitions but not pointer-to-const type type definitions (LPPOINT, LPSIZE, and others). In these cases, it is suggested that you create your own type definition from the base structure type.
| Code Block | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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#include <Windows.h>
/*
typedef struct tagPOINT {
long x, y;
} POINT, *LPPOINT;
*/
void func(const LPPOINT pt) {
/* Can modify pt's contents, against expectations */
} |
Compliant
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Solution (Windows)
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#include <Windows.h>
/*
typedef struct tagPOINT {
long x, y;
} POINT, *LPPOINT;
*/
typedef const POINT *LPCPOINT;
void func(LPCPOINT pt) {
/* Cannot modify pt's contents */
} |
Exceptions
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Noncompliant Code Example
The following In this noncompliant code example, the declaration of the signal() function is difficult to read and comprehend:
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typedef void SighandlerType(int signum); extern SighandlerType *signal( int signum, SighandlerType *handler ); |
Exceptions
Function pointer types are an exception to this recommendation.
Risk Assessment
Code readability is important for discovering and eliminating vulnerabilities.
Recommendation | Severity | Likelihood | Remediation Cost | Priority | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DCL05-C | Low | Unlikely | Medium | P2 | L3 |
Automated Detection
Tool | Version | Checker | Description | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astrée |
| pointer-typedef | Fully checked | ||||||
| Axivion Bauhaus Suite |
| CertC-DCL05 | |||||||
| CodeSonar |
| LANG.STRUCT.PIT | Pointer type inside typedef | ||||||
| Compass/ROSE |
| Helix QAC |
| C5004 |
| LDRA tool suite |
| 299 S |
381 S
Partially implemented | |||||||||
| Parasoft C/C++test |
| CERT_C-DCL05-a | Declare a type of parameter as typedef to pointer to const if the pointer is not used to modify the addressed object | ||||||
| RuleChecker |
| pointer-typedef | Fully checked |
Fully implemented
Related Vulnerabilities
Search for vulnerabilities resulting from the violation of this rule on the CERT website.
Related Guidelines
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