Checkers:SV.RVT.RETVAL_NOTTESTED

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Reference > C/C++ checkers > SV.RVT.RETVAL NOTTESTED

Ignored return value

It's important to check return values to ensure that functions were successful, since ignoring exceptions and error conditions may allow an attacker to introduce unexpected behavior. The SV.RVT.RETVAL_NOTTESTED checker reports ignored return value codes for the following functions:

function	return values to check
socket	-1, 0
recv	0, -1
pthread_mutex_destroy	0
pthread_mutex_lock	0
pthread_mutex_trylock	0
pthread_mutex_unlock	0
pthread_mutex_timedlock	0
pthread_mutex_getprioceiling	0
pthread_mutex_setprioceiling	0
pthread_cond_init	0
pthread_cond_destroy	0
pthread_cond_wait	0
pthread_cond_timedwait	0
pthread_cond_broadcast	0
pthread_rwlock_init	0
pthread_rwlock_destroy	0
pthread_rwlock_rdlock	0
pthread_rwlock_tryrdlock	0
pthread_rwlock_timedrdlock	0
pthread_rwlock_wrlock	0
pthread_rwlock_trywrlock	0
pthread_rwlock_timedwrlock	0
pthread_rwlock_unlock	0
pthread_rwlockattr_init	0
pthread_rwlockattr_destroy	0
pthread_spin_init	0
pthread_spin_destroy	0
pthread_spin_lock	0
pthread_spin_trylock	0
pthread_spin_unlock	0
pthread_barrier_init	0
pthread_barrier_destroy	0

Vulnerability and risk

These vulnerabilities typically occur when the software doesn't check for unusual or exceptional conditions that aren't expected to happen frequently. However, attackers may use these conditions to trigger unusual actions, introducing instability, incorrect behavior, or vulnerability. Even if there's no attack, bad data can be used in operations if the return value isn't checked, possibly leading to incorrect program flow, violation of data integrity, or application failure.

Mitigation and prevention

Add validation of return value and code to handle exceptional cases, making sure that there are mechanisms for checking and handling unusual or unexpected conditions. To ensure that exceptions are handled by the code, identify error conditions by running the program under low memory conditions or with insufficient privileges, interrupting a transaction, or disabling connectivity to network services.

Code examples

Vulnerable code example

1  #include <pthread.h>
2  
3  int foo() {
4      pthread_cond_t cond;
5      int res;
6      res = pthread_cond_init(&cond, NULL);
7      return 0;
8  }

Klocwork produces an issue report at line 6, indicating that the return value of 'pthread_cond_init' is not compared with 0. When a return value isn't checked, unexpected program behavior can occur.

Fixed code example

1  #include <pthread.h>
2  
3  int foo() {
4      pthread_cond_t cond;
5      int res;
6      res = pthread_cond_init(&cond, NULL);
7      if (res != 0) return 1;
8      return 0;
9  }

In the fixed example, there is a check at line 7 for the return value.

Security Guidelines

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