EXP19-C. Use braces for if, for, or while statement

Opening and closing braces for if, for, or while statements should always be used, even if said statement's body contains only a single statement.

In the event that either of these statements are used in a macro, this implies that the macro definition should not be concluded with a semicolon (see PRE11-C. Do not conclude macro definitions with a semicolon).

Braces help improve the uniformity, and therefore readability of code.

More importantly, when inserting an additional statement in a body containing only a single statement, it is easy to forget to add braces when the indentation tends to give a strong (but probably misleading) guide to the structure.

Noncompliant Code Example

This noncompliant code example uses an if-else statement without braces to authenticate a user.

int login;

if (invalid_login())
  login = 0;
else
  login = 1;

The programmer adds a debugging statement to determine when the login is valid, but forgets to add opening and closing braces.

int login;

if (invalid_login())
  login = 0;
else
  printf("Login is valid\n");  /* debugging line added here */
  login = 1;                   /* this line always gets executed, regardless of a valid login! */

Due to the indentation of the code, it is difficult to tell that the code is not functioning as intended by the programmer, leading to a possible security breach.

Compliant Solution

Opening and closing braces are used even when the body is a single statement.

int login;

if (invalid_login()) {
  login = 0;
} else {
  login = 1;
}

Noncompliant Code Example

When you have an if-else statement nested in another if statement, always put braces around the if-else.

This noncompliant code example does not use braces.

int privileges;

if (invalid_login())
  if (allow_guests())
    privileges = GUEST;
else
  privileges = ADMINISTRATOR;

According to the indentation, the programmer may be led to believe that a user is given administrator privileges only when his login is valid.

However, in reality, the else statement actually attaches to the inner if statement, like so:

int privileges;

if (invalid_login())
  if (allow_guests())
    privileges = GUEST;
  else
    privileges = ADMINISTRATOR;

This is a security loophole - users with invalid logins can still obtain administrator privileges.

Compliant Solution

Adding braces removes the ambiguity and ensures that privileges are correctly assigned.

int privileges;

if (invalid_login()) {
  if (allow_guests()) {
    privileges = GUEST;
  } 
} else {
  privileges = ADMINISTRATOR;
}

Risk Assessment

References

[[ISO/IEC 9899-1999]] Section 6.8.4, "Selection statements"
[[MISRA 04]] Rule 14.8
[GNU Coding Standards] Section 5.3, "Clean Use of C Constructs"