Expression is Always True

Draft Base

Structure: Simple

Description

The product contains an expression that will always evaluate to true.

Common Consequences 1

Scope: Other

Impact: Quality DegradationVaries by Context

Detection Methods 1

Automated Static AnalysisHigh

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)

Potential Mitigations 1

Phase: Testing

Use Static Analysis tools to spot such conditions.

Demonstrative Examples 1

In the following Java example the updateInventory() method used within an e-business product ordering/inventory application will check if the input product number is in the store or in the warehouse. If the product is found, the method will update the store or warehouse database as well as the aggregate product database. If the product is not found, the method intends to do some special processing without updating any database.

Code Example:

Bad

Java

java

/* Warn customer about delay before order processing / ...}}

However, the method never sets the isDelayed variable and instead will always update the isProductAvailable variable to true. The result is that the predicate testing the isProductAvailable boolean will always evaluate to true and therefore always update the product database. Further, since the isDelayed variable is initialized to false and never changed, the expression always evaluates to false and the customer will never be warned of a delay on their product.

Applicable Platforms

Languages:

Not Language-Specific : Undetermined

Modes of Introduction

Implementation

Related Weaknesses

ChildOf:

Improper Adherence to Coding Standards (CWE-710)

CanPrecede:

Dead Code (CWE-561)

Taxonomy Mapping

CERT C Secure Coding
Software Fault Patterns