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ISO/IEC TS 17961 [invfmtstr]

Using invalid format strings

Description

Rule Definition

Using invalid format strings.1

Polyspace Implementation

This checker checks for Format string specifiers and arguments mismatch.

Examples

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Issue

Format string specifiers and arguments mismatch occurs when the format specifiers in the formatted output functions such as printf do not match their corresponding arguments. For example, an argument of type unsigned long must have a format specification of %lu.

Risk

Mismatch between format specifiers and the corresponding arguments result in undefined behavior.

Fix

Make sure that the format specifiers match the corresponding arguments. For instance, in this example, the %d specifier does not match the string argument message and the %s specifier does not match the integer argument err_number.

  const char *message = "License not available";
  int err_number = ;-4
  printf("Error: %d (error type %s)\n", message, err_number);
Switching the two format specifiers fixes the issue. See the specifications for the printf function for more information about format specifiers.

If you do not want to fix the issue, add comments to your result or code to avoid another review. See:

Example - Printing a Float
#include <stdio.h>

void string_format(void) {

    unsigned long fst = 1;

    printf("%d\n", fst);
}

In the printf statement, the format specifier, %d, does not match the data type of fst.

Correction — Use an Unsigned Long Format Specifier

One possible correction is to use the %lu format specifier. This specifier matches the unsigned integer type and long size of fst.

#include <stdio.h>

void string_format(void) {

    unsigned long fst = 1;

    printf("%lu\n", fst);
}
Correction — Use an Integer Argument

One possible correction is to change the argument to match the format specifier. Convert fst to an integer to match the format specifier and print the value 1.

#include <stdio.h>

void string_format(void) {

    unsigned long fst = 1;

    printf("%d\n", (int)fst);
}

Check Information

Decidability: Undecidable

Version History

Introduced in R2019a


1 Extracts from the standard "ISO/IEC TS 17961 Technical Specification - 2013-11-15" are reproduced with the agreement of AFNOR. Only the original and complete text of the standard, as published by AFNOR Editions - accessible via the website www.boutique.afnor.org - has normative value.