Undefined Behavior
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Undefined Behavior
A Guide to Programming's Dark Corner
About the Book
Life would be much simpler if computers just did exactly what we told them to do. Unfortunately, the reality is far more complex. In the realm of software development, we frequently encounter situations where our assumptions about program behavior clash with the actual mechanics of how computers execute our code. This disconnect is perhaps most dramatically illustrated in the concept of undefined behavior.
About the Author
Table of Contents
- Preface
- Structure of This Book
- Who This Book Is For
- What You’ll Gain
- Introduction
- Why Should You Care?
- Undefined vs. Unexpected behavior
- Foundations
- Basic Concepts and Definitions
- The Contract Model
- Chapter Exercises
- Performance Implications of Undefined Behavior
- The Optimization Dilemma
- Case Study: Loop Optimization Through Undefined Behavior
- Measuring the Performance Impact
- The Performance Benefit of Assuming No Undefined Behavior
- Performance vs. Safety: Modern Approaches
- Performance Profiling of Safety Features
- Real-World Optimization Strategies
- SIMD and Vectorization
- Conclusion
- Chapter Exercises
- Security Implications of Undefined Behavior
- The Security-Behavior Connection
- Common Vulnerability Classes Rooted in Undefined Behavior
- Real-World Security Exploits
- Exploit Development: From Undefined Behavior to Code Execution
- Architectural Patterns to Mitigate Security Risks
- Security-Focused Testing Strategies
- Secure Development Practices
- Case Study: OpenSSL Heartbleed Post-Mortem
- Conclusion
- Chapter Exercises
- Undefined Behavior in Embedded Systems
- The Critical Nature of Embedded Systems
- Common Sources of Undefined Behavior in Embedded Systems
- Real-Time Operating Systems (RTOS) and Undefined Behavior
- Memory Management in Embedded Systems
- Hardware Peripherals and Undefined Behavior
- Power Management and Undefined Behavior
- Safety-Critical Systems Approach
- Boot Process and Initialization
- Case Study: Toyota Unintended Acceleration
- Best Practices for Embedded Systems
- Embedded Systems Testing Strategies
- Future Trends in Embedded Systems
- Conclusion
- Chapter Exercises
- Testing to Reduce Undefined Behavior
- The Role of Testing in Preventing Undefined Behavior
- Unit Testing: The First Line of Defense
- Integration Testing
- Security Testing
- Advanced Testing Techniques
- Test Coverage and Quality Metrics
- Validating the Test Suite Itself
- Continuous Integration and Testing
- Contract Testing
- Test Data Management
- Best Practices for Effective Testing
- Real-World Example: Testing a Financial Transaction Service
- Conclusion
- Chapter Exercises
- Formal Verification: Mathematically Proving Absence of Undefined Behavior
- Introduction to Formal Verification
- Formal Methods Approaches
- Formal Verification Tools
- Verifying Absence of Specific Undefined Behaviors
- Real-World Applications of Formal Verification
- Integrating Formal Verification into Development
- Case Study: Verifying a Security Protocol
- Verification Challenges and Limitations
- The Future of Formal Verification
- Practical Steps for Adopting Formal Verification
- Conclusion
- Chapter Exercises
- Undefined Behavior in C
- Introduction to C’s Undefined Behavior
- Common Sources of Undefined Behavior in C
- Compiler Optimizations and Undefined Behavior
- Strategies for Avoiding Undefined Behavior in C
- C23 and the Future of Undefined Behavior
- Chapter Exercises
- Undefined Behavior in C++
- Introduction to C++’s Undefined Behavior
- Common Sources of Undefined Behavior in C++
- C++ Specific Undefined Behaviors
- Modern C++ Solutions to Undefined Behavior
- Libraries and Tools for C++ Safety
- Chapter Exercises
- Rust: Building Confidence Through Language Design
- Introduction to Rust’s Safety Philosophy
- Ownership: The Foundation of Rust’s Safety
- Memory Safety Without Garbage Collection
- Preventing Common Sources of Undefined Behavior
- The Unsafe Escape Hatch
- Compile-Time Guarantees
- Interoperability with C and C++
- Debugging and Tools for Safe Rust
- Rust Compared to Other Languages
- Real-World Examples: Preventing Bugs with Rust
- Rust’s Limitations
- Embracing Safe Programming with Rust
- Chapter Exercises
- Conclusion
- Unexpected Behavior in Python
- Introduction to Python’s Behavior Model
- The Distinction: Implementation-Defined vs. Unexpected
- Common Sources of Unexpected Behavior in Python
- Type-Related Unexpected Behaviors
- Security Implications of Unexpected Behavior
- Debugging and Prevention Strategies
- Chapter Exercises
- Unexpected Behavior in Java
- Introduction to Java’s Behavior Model
- Java’s Safety Guarantees
- Java 21: Modern Immutability Features
- Common Sources of Unexpected Behavior in Java
- Equality and Identity
- Security Implications
- Strategies for Safer Java Programming with Java 21
- Chapter Exercises
- Unexpected Behavior in JavaScript
- Introduction to JavaScript’s Behavior Model
- Type Coercion and Equality
- Scope and Hoisting
- The
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- Asynchronous Behavior
- Array Behavior
- Object Property Behavior
- Floating-Point Math
- Security Implications
- Modern JavaScript and Mitigation Strategies
- Chapter Exercises
- TypeScript: Preventing Unexpected Behavior
- Introduction to TypeScript’s Type System
- How TypeScript Helps Prevent JavaScript Surprises
- TypeScript’s Escape Hatches and Their Dangers
- TypeScript-Specific Pitfalls
- Advanced TypeScript Type Safety
- Integration with JavaScript
- Security Implications
- Best Practices for TypeScript Type Safety
- Chapter Exercises
- Ada: Designing Out Undefined Behavior
- Introduction to Ada’s Safety Philosophy
- Core Safety Features of Ada
- Memory Safety in Ada
- Concurrency Safety
- Safe Exceptions Instead of Undefined Behavior
- Contracts and Formal Verification
- SPARK: Taking Safety to the Next Level
- Real-World Example: The IRONSIDES DNS Server
- Comparison with Undefined Behavior in Other Languages
- Costs and Trade-offs
- Chapter Exercises
- Haskell: Type Safety and Referential Transparency
- Introduction to Haskell’s Safety Philosophy
- Core Safety Features of Haskell
- Memory Safety in Haskell
- Type Classes: Principled Polymorphism
- Managing Effects with Types
- Handling Failures with Monads
- Safe Concurrency with Pure Functions
- Preventing Common Issues with Advanced Types
- Property-Based Testing
- Formal Verification with Dependent Types
- Comparison with Undefined Behavior in Other Languages
- Costs and Trade-offs
- Real-World Example: Facebook’s Sigma Anti-Spam System
- Chapter Exercises
- Cross-Language Comparison of Undefined Behavior
- Introduction
- Spectrum of Behavior Guarantees
- Language Family Comparison
- Common Sources of UB Across Languages
- Practical Implications for Polyglot Programmers
- Security Implications of Cross-Language Differences
- Performance Tradeoffs vs. Safety Guarantees
- Case Study: A Cross-Language Vulnerability
- Conclusion
- Exercises
- Language Migration: Navigating Undefined Behavior Across Paradigms
- Introduction
- Strategic Considerations for Language Migration
- Migration Paths and Their Challenges
- Practical Migration Techniques
- Case Studies: Successful Migration Stories
- Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Migration Decision Framework
- Tools to Support Migration
- Philosophical Considerations
- Conclusion
- Exercises
- Appendix: Reference Tables
- Common Undefined Behaviors in C and C++
- Common Undefined Behaviors in Java
- Common Undefined Behaviors in Python
- Common Undefined Behaviors in JavaScript
- Real-World Security Exploits Caused by Undefined Behavior
- Behavior Comparison Across Languages
- Tools for Detecting Undefined Behavior
- CERT Secure Coding Standards
- Standards and Specifications
- Glossary of Terms
- Preface
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