C and C++


LANG.STRUCT.UPD : Unchecked Parameter Dereference

Summary

A function parameter is dereferenced without an initial NULL check, which could lead to a NULL pointer dereference.

Properties

Class Name Unchecked Parameter Dereference
Significance style
Mnemonic LANG.STRUCT.UPD
Categories
CWE CWE:476 NULL Pointer Dereference
  CWE:822 Untrusted Pointer Dereference
TS17961 TS17961:5.14-nullref 5.14. Dereferencing an out-of-domain pointer
CERT-C CERT-C:API00-C Functions should validate their parameters
  CERT-C:EXP34-C Do not dereference null pointers
JSF++ JSF++:174 The null pointer shall not be de-referenced.
POW10 POW10:7 Check the return value of non-void functions, and check the validity of function parameters.
JPL JPL:15 Check the validity of values passed to functions.
Availability Available for C and C++.
Enabling Checks for this warning class are disabled by default. To enable them, add the following WARNING_FILTER rule to the project configuration file.
WARNING_FILTER += allow class="Unchecked Parameter Dereference"

Example

char lang_struct_upd(char *inchar)
{
    char c;
    c = *inchar; /* 'Unchecked Parameter Dereference' warning issued here */
    return c;
}

Relevant Configuration File Parameters

The following configuration file parameters affect checks for this warning class.