Jump to: navigation, search

Difference between revisions of "StarlingX/Security/Banned C Functions"

(Guidance)
(Guidance)
Line 3: Line 3:
 
* Only functions in the standard C runtime library—libc—are mandated
 
* Only functions in the standard C runtime library—libc—are mandated
 
* Unbounded functions are banned unless specifically noted
 
* Unbounded functions are banned unless specifically noted
* Stack allocation functions are banned unless specifically approved by the project Core
+
* Stack allocation functions are banned unless specifically approved by the project core
  
 
There is no requirement to retrofit existing upstream code to meet these guidelines.  A summary of the policy is provided below.
 
There is no requirement to retrofit existing upstream code to meet these guidelines.  A summary of the policy is provided below.
Line 31: Line 31:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|vsnprintf
 
|vsnprintf
|banned except with approval from PSE. requires detailed inspection to avoid va_list pitfalls
+
|banned except with approval from core. requires detailed inspection to avoid va_list pitfalls
 
|-
 
|-
 
|strtok
 
|strtok
Line 58: Line 58:
 
|-
 
|-
 
|alloca
 
|alloca
|banned except with approval of PSE. requires detailed inspection to avoid stack overflow
+
|banned except with approval of core. requires detailed inspection to avoid stack overflow
 
|}
 
|}
  
Line 65: Line 65:
 
|+
 
|+
 
|Allowed w/Inspection
 
|Allowed w/Inspection
|Banned
+
|<pre style="color: red">Banned</pre>
|Banned w/Exceptions
+
|<pre style="color: orange">Banned w/Exceptions</pre>
 
|}
 
|}

Revision as of 21:37, 16 November 2018

Guidance

Prohibiting the use of banned functions is a good way to remove a significant number of potential code vulnerabilities from C and C++ code. This list is the compiled library of known bad functions that should be removed to reduce vulnerabilities. It is derived from experience with real-world security bugs and focuses primarily on functions that can lead to buffer overruns (reference: msdn). Specifically, for starling X, the main guidelines are that:

  • Only functions in the standard C runtime library—libc—are mandated
  • Unbounded functions are banned unless specifically noted
  • Stack allocation functions are banned unless specifically approved by the project core

There is no requirement to retrofit existing upstream code to meet these guidelines. A summary of the policy is provided below.

Func Status
strcpy, wcscpy unbounded, banned; use strncpy
strncpy inspect for unterminated/truncated output
strcat, wcscat unbounded, banned; use strncat
strncat inspect for truncated output
sprintf, vsprintf unbounded, banned; use snprintf, vsnprintf
snprintf inspect for result fitting in buffer: snprintf(buf, size, ...) < size
vsnprintf banned except with approval from core. requires detailed inspection to avoid va_list pitfalls
strtok unbounded, banned; use strtok_r or strsep
strtok_r, strsep Inspect for terminated input buffer
sscanf, vsscanf unbounded, banned
gets unbounded, banned, use fgets() instead
ato* banned, use equivalent strto* functions
*toa Non-standard, inspect for output buffer length; prefer snprintf
strlen, wcslen banned except static strings; use strnlen with max length constant
memcpy, memmove allowed
alloca banned except with approval of core. requires detailed inspection to avoid stack overflow

Color Coding

Allowed w/Inspection
Banned
Banned w/Exceptions