clang-tidy - bugprone-suspicious-memset-usage — Extra Clang Tools 21.1.8 documentation

# Extra Clang Tools 21.1.8 documentation

## clang-tidy - bugprone-suspicious-memset-usage

# bugprone-suspicious-memset-usage

This check finds `memset()` calls with potential mistakes in their arguments. Considering the function as `void* memset(void* destination, int fill_value, size_t byte_count)`, the following cases are covered:

Case 1: Fill value is a character ``’0’``

Filling up a memory area with ASCII code 48 characters is not customary, possibly integer zeroes were intended instead. The check offers a replacement of `'0'` with `0`. Memsetting character pointers with `'0'` is allowed.

Case 2: Fill value is truncated

Memset converts `fill_value` to `unsigned char` before using it. If `fill_value` is out of unsigned character range, it gets truncated and memory will not contain the desired pattern.

Case 3: Byte count is zero

Calling memset with a literal zero in its `byte_count` argument is likely to be unintended and swapped with `fill_value`. The check offers to swap these two arguments.

Corresponding cpplint.py check name: `runtime/memset`.

Examples:

    void foo() {
      int i[5] = {1, 2, 3, 4, 5};
      int *ip = i;
      char c = '1';
      char *cp = &c;
      int v = 0;

      // Case 1
      memset(ip, '0', 1); // suspicious
      memset(cp, '0', 1); // OK

      // Case 2
      memset(ip, 0xabcd, 1); // fill value gets truncated
      memset(ip, 0x00, 1);   // OK

      // Case 3
      memset(ip, sizeof(int), v); // zero length, potentially swapped
      memset(ip, 0, 1);           // OK
    }