Mutexes are used to protect shared data structures being concurrently accessed. If a mutex is destroyed while a thread is blocked waiting for that mutex, critical sections and shared data are no longer protected.

The C Standard, 7.28.4.1, paragraph 2 [ISO/IEC 9899:2024], states

The mtx_destroy function releases any resources used by the mutex pointed to by mtx. No threads can be blocked waiting for the mutex pointed to by mtx.

This statement implies that destroying a mutex while a thread is waiting on it is undefined behavior.

Noncompliant Code Example

This noncompliant code example creates several threads that each invoke the do_work() function, passing a unique number as an ID. The do_work() function initializes the lock mutex if the argument is 0 and destroys the mutex if the argument is max_threads - 1. In all other cases, the do_work() function provides normal processing. Each thread, except the final cleanup thread, increments the atomic completed variable when it is finished.

Unfortunately, this code contains several race conditions, allowing the mutex to be destroyed before it is unlocked. Additionally, there is no guarantee that lock will be initialized before it is passed to mtx_lock(). Each of these behaviors is undefined.

#include <stdatomic.h>
#include <stddef.h>
#include <threads.h>
 
mtx_t lock;
/* Atomic so multiple threads can modify safely */
atomic_int completed = ATOMIC_VAR_INIT(0);
enum { max_threads = 5 }; 

int do_work(void *arg) {
  int *i = (int *)arg;

  if (*i == 0) { /* Creation thread */
    if (thrd_success != mtx_init(&lock, mtx_plain)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
    atomic_store(&completed, 1);
  } else if (*i < max_threads - 1) { /* Worker thread */
    if (thrd_success != mtx_lock(&lock)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
    /* Access data protected by the lock */
    atomic_fetch_add(&completed, 1);
    if (thrd_success != mtx_unlock(&lock)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  } else { /* Destruction thread */
    mtx_destroy(&lock);
  }
  return 0;
}
 
int main(void) {
  thrd_t threads[max_threads];
  
  for (size_t i = 0; i < max_threads; i++) {
    if (thrd_success != thrd_create(&threads[i], do_work, &i)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  }
  for (size_t i = 0; i < max_threads; i++) {
    if (thrd_success != thrd_join(threads[i], 0)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  }
  return 0;
}

Compliant Solution

This compliant solution eliminates the race conditions by initializing the mutex in main() before creating the threads and by destroying the mutex in main() after joining the threads:

#include <stdatomic.h>
#include <stddef.h>
#include <threads.h>
 
mtx_t lock;
/* Atomic so multiple threads can increment safely */
atomic_int completed = ATOMIC_VAR_INIT(0);
enum { max_threads = 5 }; 

int do_work(void *dummy) {
  if (thrd_success != mtx_lock(&lock)) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
  /* Access data protected by the lock */
  atomic_fetch_add(&completed, 1);
  if (thrd_success != mtx_unlock(&lock)) {
    /* Handle error */
  }

  return 0;
}

int main(void) {
  thrd_t threads[max_threads];
  
  if (thrd_success != mtx_init(&lock, mtx_plain)) {
    /* Handle error */
  }
  for (size_t i = 0; i < max_threads; i++) {
    if (thrd_success != thrd_create(&threads[i], do_work, NULL)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  }
  for (size_t i = 0; i < max_threads; i++) {
    if (thrd_success != thrd_join(threads[i], 0)) {
      /* Handle error */
    }
  }

  mtx_destroy(&lock);
  return 0;
}

Risk Assessment

Destroying a mutex while it is locked may result in invalid control flow and data corruption.

Rule

Severity

Likelihood

Remediation Cost

Priority

Level

CON31-C

Medium

Probable

High

P4

L3

Automated Detection

Tool

Version

Checker

Description

Astrée

Supported, but no explicit checker
CodeSonar

CONCURRENCY.LOCALARG

Local Variable Passed to Thread

Cppcheck Premium

premium-cert-con31-c
Helix QAC

DF4961, DF4962
Parasoft C/C++test

CERT_C-CON31-a
CERT_C-CON31-b
CERT_C-CON31-c

Do not destroy another thread's mutex
Do not use resources that have been freed
Do not free resources using invalid pointers

Polyspace Bug Finder

CERT C: Rule CON31-CChecks for destruction of locked mutex (rule fully covered)

Related Vulnerabilities

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

Related Guidelines

Key here (explains table format and definitions)

Taxonomy

Taxonomy item

Relationship

CWE 2.11CWE-667, Improper Locking2017-07-10: CERT: Rule subset of CWE

CERT-CWE Mapping Notes

Key here for mapping notes

CWE-667 and CON31-C/POS48-C

Intersection( CON31-C, POS48-C) = Ø

CWE-667 = Union, CON31-C, POS48-C, list) where list =



Bibliography

[ISO/IEC 9899:2024]7.28.4.1, "The mtx_destroy Function"