SEI CERT C Coding Standard

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C99 says getenv() has the following behavior [ISO/IEC 9899:1999]:

The getenv function returns a pointer to a string associated with the matched list member. The string pointed to shall not be modified by the program but may be overwritten by a subsequent call to the getenv function.

Consequently, it is best not to store this pointer, as it may be overwritten by a subsequent call to the getenv() function or invalidated as a result of changes made to the environment list through calls to putenv(), setenv(), or other means. Storing the pointer for later use can result in a dangling pointer or a pointer to incorrect data. This string should be referenced immediately and discarded; if later use is anticipated, the string should be copied, so the copy can be safetly referenced as needed.

The getenv() function is not thread-safe. Make sure to address any possible race conditions resulting from the use of this function.

Noncompliant Code Example

This noncompliant code example compares the value of the TMP and TEMP environment variables to determine if they are the same. 

char *tmpvar;
char *tempvar;

tmpvar = getenv("TMP");
if (!tmpvar) return -1;
tempvar = getenv("TEMP");
if (!tempvar) return -1;

if (strcmp(tmpvar, tempvar) == 0) {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are NOT the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}

This code example is noncompliant because the string referenced by tmpvar may be overwritten as a result of the second call to the getenv() function. As a result, it is possible that both tmpvar and tempvar will compare equal even if the two environment variables have different values.

Compliant Solution (Windows)

Windows provides the getenv_s() and _wgetenv_s() functions for getting a value from the current environment [MSDN].

char *tmpvar;
char *tempvar;
size_t requiredSize;

getenv_s(&requiredSize, NULL, 0, "TMP");
tmpvar = (char *)malloc(requiredSize * sizeof(char));
if (!tmpvar) {
   /* Handle error */
}
getenv_s(&requiredSize, tmpvar, requiredSize, "TMP" );

getenv_s(&requiredSize, NULL, 0, "TEMP");
tempvar = (char *)malloc(requiredSize * sizeof(char));
if (!tempvar) {
   free(tmpvar);
   tmpvar = NULL;
   /* Handle error */
}
getenv_s(&requiredSize, tempvar, requiredSize, "TEMP" );

if (strcmp(tmpvar, tempvar) == 0) {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are NOT the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle Error */
  }
}
free(tmpvar);
tmpvar = NULL;
free(tempvar);
tempvar = NULL;

Compliant Solution (Windows)

Windows also provides the _dupenv_s() and _wdupenv_s() functions for getting a value from the current environment [MSDN].

The _dupenv_s() function searches the list of environment variables for a specified name. If the name is found, a buffer is allocated; the variable's value is copied into the buffer, and the buffer's address and number of elements are returned. By allocating the buffer itself, _dupenv_s() and _wdupenv_s() provide a more convenient alternative to getenv_s() and _wgetenv_s().

It is the calling program's responsibility to free any allocated buffers returned by these functions.

char *tmpvar;
char *tempvar;
size_t len;

errno_t err = _dupenv_s(&tmpvar, &len, "TMP");
if (err) return -1;
err = _dupenv_s(&tempvar, &len, "TEMP");
if (err) {
  free(tmpvar);
  tmpvar = NULL;
  return -1;
}

if (strcmp(tmpvar, tempvar) == 0) {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are NOT the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
free(tmpvar);
tmpvar = NULL;
free(tempvar);
tempvar = NULL;

Compliant Solution (POSIX)

POSIX provides the strdup() function, which can make a copy of the environment variable string [Open Group 2004]. The strdup() function is also included in ISO/IEC PDTR 24731-2 [ISO/IEC PDTR 24731-2].

char *tmpvar;
char *tempvar;

const char *temp = getenv("TMP");
if (temp != NULL) {
  tmpvar = strdup(temp);
  if (tmpvar == NULL) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  return -1;
}

temp = getenv("TEMP");
if (temp != NULL) {
  tempvar = strdup(temp);
  if (tempvar == NULL) {
    free(tmpvar);
    tmpvar = NULL;
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  free(tmpvar);
  tmpvar = NULL;
  return -1;
}

if (strcmp(tmpvar, tempvar) == 0) {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are NOT the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
free(tmpvar);
tmpvar = NULL;
free(tempvar);
tempvar = NULL;

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution uses only the C99 malloc() and strcpy() functions to copy the string returned by getenv() into a dynamically allocated buffer.

char *tmpvar;
char *tempvar;

const char *temp = getenv("TMP");
if (temp != NULL) {
  tmpvar = (char *)malloc(strlen(temp)+1);
  if (tmpvar != NULL) {
    strcpy(tmpvar, temp);
  }
  else {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  return -1;
}

temp = getenv("TEMP");
if (temp != NULL) {
  tempvar = (char *)malloc(strlen(temp)+1);
  if (tempvar != NULL) {
    strcpy(tempvar, temp);
  }
  else {
    free(tmpvar);
    tmpvar = NULL;
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  free(tmpvar);
  tmpvar = NULL;
  return -1;
}

if (strcmp(tmpvar, tempvar) == 0) {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
else {
  if (puts("TMP and TEMP are NOT the same.\n") == EOF) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
}
free(tmpvar);
tmpvar = NULL;
free(tempvar);
tempvar = NULL;

Risk Assessment

Storing the pointer to the string returned by getenv() can result in overwritten environmental data.

Recommendation

Severity

Likelihood

Remediation Cost

Priority

Level

ENV00-C

low

probable

medium

P4

L3

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Automated Detection

Tool

Version

Checker

Description

Compass/ROSE

 

 

 

Related Guidelines

CERT C++ Secure Coding Standard: ENV00-CPP. Do not store the pointer to the string returned by getenv()

ISO/IEC 9899:1999 Section 7.20.4, "Communication with the environment"

ISO/IEC PDTR 24731-2

Bibliography

[MSDN] _dupenv_s() and _wdupenv_s(), getenv_s(), _wgetenv_s()
[Open Group 2004] Chapter 8, and "Environment Variables", strdup
[Viega 2003] Section 3.6, "Using Environment Variables Securely"

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