PRE04-C. Do not reuse a standard header file name

If a file with the same name as a standard header is placed in the search path for included source files, the behavior is undefined.

The following table lists these standard headers:

`<assert.h>`	`<complex.h>`	`<ctype.h>`	`<errno.h>`	`<fenv.h>`
`<float.h>`	`<inttypes.h>`	`<iso646.h>`	`<limits.h>`	`<locale.h>`
`<math.h>`	`<setjmp.h>`	`<signal.h>`	`<stdarg.h>`	`<stdbool.h>`
`<stddef.h>`	`<stdint.h>`	`<stdio.h>`	`<stdlib.h>`	`<string.h>`
`<tgmath.h>`	`<time.h>`	`<uchar.h>`	`<wchar.h>`	`<wctype.h>`

Do not reuse standard header file names, system-specific header file names, or other header file names.

Noncompliant Code Example

In this noncompliant code example, the programmer chooses to use a local version of the standard library but does not make the change clear.

#include "stdio.h"  /* confusing, distinct from <stdio.h> */

/* ... */

Compliant Solution

The solution addresses the problem by giving the local library a unique name (per recommendation PRE08-C. Guarantee that header file names are unique), which makes it apparent that the library used is not the original.

/* Using a local version of stdio.h */ 
#include "mystdio.h"

/* ... */

Risk Assessment

Using header file names that conflict with other header file names can result in an incorrect file being included.

Recommendation	Severity	Likelihood	Remediation Cost	Priority	Level
PRE04-C	low	unlikely	medium	P2	L3

Automated Detection

Tool	Version	Checker	Description
LDRA tool suite	9.7.1	218 S 568 S	Fully Implemented

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Related Guidelines

CERT C++ Secure Coding Standard: PRE04-CPP. Do not reuse a standard header file name

ISO/IEC 9899:1999 Section 7.1.2, "Standard Headers"

The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java: DCL01-J. Do not reuse public identifiers from the Java Standard Library

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