MSC19-C. For functions that return an array, prefer returning an empty array over a null value

Functions may intentionally return null to account for zero available instances. This practice can lead to vulnerabilities when the client code does not correctly handle the null return case.

Noncompliant Code Example

The erroneous behavior results form getStock() returning null while main() forgets to add in a check for such a value. In this noncompliant code example, the check for item != null is missing from the if condition in function main().

#include <stdio.h>

#define INV_SIZE 20

typedef struct {
  int item[INV_SIZE];
  int length;
} Inventory;

int *getStock(Inventory iv);

int main(void) {
  Inventory iv;
  size_t i;
  int *item;

  iv.length = 0;
  item = getStock(iv);

  for (i = 0; i < INV_SIZE; i++) {
    if (item[i] == 1) {
      printf("Almost out of stock of item: %d", i);
    }
  }
  return 0;
}

int *getStock(Inventory iv) {
  if (iv.length == 0) {
    return NULL;
  }
  else {
    return iv.item;
  }
}

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution eliminates the null return and simply returns the item array as is even if it is zero-length. The main function can effectively handle this situation without exhibiting erroneous behavior.

#include <stdio.h>

#define INV_SIZE 20

typedef struct {
  int item[INV_SIZE];
  int length;
} Inventory;

int *getStock(Inventory iv);

int main(void) {
  Inventory iv;
  size_t i;
  int *item;

  iv.length = 0;
  item = getStock(iv);

  for (i = 0; i < INV_SIZE; i++) {
    if (item[i] == 1) {
      printf("Almost out of stock of item: %d", i);
    }
  }
  return 0;
}

int *getStock(Inventory iv) {
  return iv.item;
}

Risk Assessment

Returning null rather than a zero-length array may lead to vulnerabilities when the client code does not handle null properly.

Other Languages

This guideline appears in the Java Secure Coding Standard as MET03-J. For methods that return an array or collection prefer returning an empty array or collection over a null value.

Related Vulnerabilities

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

References

[[Bloch 08]] Item 43: return empty arrays or collections, not nulls

      49. Miscellaneous (MSC)