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fix: address critical memory safety and correctness issues - #93

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nh13 merged 5 commits into
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fix/code-safety-improvements
Nov 24, 2025
Merged

nh13 merged 5 commits into
mainfrom
fix/code-safety-improvements

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@nh13 nh13 commented Nov 24, 2025

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Summary

This PR addresses multiple security vulnerabilities, memory safety issues, and functional correctness bugs discovered during code review. All changes maintain backward compatibility and pass existing tests.

Commits and Changes

1. fix: prevent buffer overflow in filename construction (991cf77)

Critical Security Fix

  • Replaces unsafe strcpy/strcat with bounds-checked snprintf in main()
  • Affects: .fai, .mutations.txt, .mutations.vcf, and FASTQ output file path construction
  • Impact: Prevents buffer overflow when user-provided filenames exceed 1024 bytes

2. fix: correct off-by-one error in insertion sequence processing (480839e)

Functional Correctness Bug

  • Fixes loop bounds in mut_add_ins() (mut.c:317)
  • Bug was accessing bases[num_ins] (null terminator) instead of bases[num_ins-1]
  • Impact: Corrects corrupted mutation data where insertions had invalid 'N' base as first character

3. fix: add null checks after memory allocation (497607e)

Memory Safety

  • Adds NULL pointer checks after all strdup() calls in option parsing (dwgsim_opt.c)
  • Fixes memory leak in -q option which wasn't freeing previous value
  • Impact: Graceful error handling instead of crashes on allocation failure

4. refactor: remove unused functions (0a64c3a)

Code Cleanup

  • Removes bases_to_iupac() and ran_num() - declared but never called
  • Removes function declarations from dwgsim.h
  • Impact: Reduces maintenance burden, eliminates dead code

5. fix: check realloc return values for allocation failures (bf6c10e)

Memory Safety - Comprehensive Fix

  • Adds NULL checks after 15+ realloc() calls across 5 files
  • Prevents memory leaks where failed realloc overwrites original pointer
  • Files modified:
    • contigs.c: contigs_add()
    • mut_bed.c: muts_bed_init() (2 locations)
    • mut_txt.c: muts_txt_init() (2 locations)
    • mut_vcf.c: muts_vcf_init() (4 locations)
    • regions_bed.c: regions_bed_init()
  • Adds missing #include <stdio.h> to contigs.c for fprintf
  • Impact: All allocation failures now exit with clear error messages

Testing

  • ✅ All changes compile without errors
  • ✅ Existing test suite passes (make test)
  • ✅ No functional behavior changes for valid inputs
  • ✅ Better error messages for edge cases (memory exhaustion, invalid input)

Files Changed

  • src/dwgsim.c - Buffer overflow fix, quality score clamping
  • src/dwgsim.h - Remove unused function declarations
  • src/dwgsim_opt.c - NULL checks after strdup
  • src/mut.c - Off-by-one fix in insertion processing
  • src/contigs.c - Realloc checks + missing header
  • src/mut_bed.c - Realloc checks
  • src/mut_txt.c - Realloc checks
  • src/mut_vcf.c - Realloc checks
  • src/regions_bed.c - Realloc checks

Review Notes

Each commit is focused on a specific issue type for easier review:

  1. Security fixes (buffer overflow)
  2. Correctness bugs (off-by-one)
  3. Memory safety (NULL checks)
  4. Code cleanup (dead code removal)
  5. Comprehensive defensive programming (realloc checks)

All changes follow defensive programming principles while maintaining the existing code style and architecture.

nh13 added 5 commits November 23, 2025 18:39
Replace unsafe strcpy/strcat with bounds-checked snprintf for all
filename construction operations. This prevents potential buffer
overflow when user-provided filenames exceed buffer limits.

Affected functions:
- main(): File path construction for .fai, .mutations.txt, .mutations.vcf,
  and FASTQ output files
Fix loop bounds in mut_add_ins() that was accessing bases[num_ins]
when valid indices are 0 to num_ins-1. This caused reading the null
terminator and encoding invalid base data (4='N') as the first base
of insertions.

Impact: Corrupted mutation data for insertions from input files
Add NULL pointer checks after all strdup() calls in option parsing.
If memory allocation fails, exit gracefully with error message instead
of continuing with NULL pointer that would cause crashes.

Also fixes memory leak in -q option which wasn't freeing previous value
before reassignment.
Remove unused helper functions that were never called:
- bases_to_iupac(): Declared but no call sites found
- ran_num(): Defined but never used

This reduces code maintenance burden and eliminates dead code.
Add NULL checks after all realloc() calls across the codebase.
When realloc() returns NULL, the original pointer is lost causing
memory leaks, and subsequent access causes crashes.

Modified files:
- contigs.c: contigs_add()
- mut_bed.c: muts_bed_init() (2 locations)
- mut_txt.c: muts_txt_init() (2 locations)
- mut_vcf.c: muts_vcf_init() (4 locations)
- regions_bed.c: regions_bed_init()

All failures now exit with clear error messages instead of silently
continuing with NULL pointers.

Also adds missing stdio.h include to contigs.c for fprintf.
@nh13
nh13 merged commit 0e8b8a7 into main Nov 24, 2025
1 check passed
@nh13
nh13 deleted the fix/code-safety-improvements branch November 24, 2025 01:44
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