Fix unsigned underflow in SimpleString::subString() on empty strings - #1889
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basvodde merged 1 commit intoJul 30, 2026
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subString(beginPos, amount) rejected out-of-range beginPos with `if (beginPos > size()-1) return "";`. Since size() returns size_t, calling this on an empty string (size() == 0) makes size()-1 wrap around to SIZE_MAX, so the bounds check is defeated for any beginPos and the function falls through to an out-of-bounds read of the string's internal buffer. Use `beginPos >= size()` instead, which is mathematically equivalent to the original check for every size() >= 1 and additionally handles size() == 0 correctly.
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SimpleString::subString(size_t beginPos, size_t amount)rejects an out-of-rangebeginPoswith:size()returnssize_t(unsigned). When called on an empty string,size()is0, sosize()-1underflows toSIZE_MAX. The checkbeginPos > SIZE_MAXis then false for essentially anybeginPos, so the bounds check is silently defeated and the function falls through to:which reads out of bounds of the (1-byte, null-terminator-only) buffer of an empty
SimpleString.Repro (confirmed with a guard-page allocator that places an empty SimpleString's buffer directly against a
PAGE_NOACCESSpage):This reliably crashes before the fix and returns
""after it.Fix: change the check to
beginPos >= size(), which is mathematically identical to the original for everysize() >= 1(so every existing non-empty-string call site is byte-for-byte unaffected) but no longer underflows whensize() == 0.Verified:
empty.subString(1, 1)segfaults before the fix.subString(1, 1)on an empty string correctly returns"".SimpleStringtest group (AllTests -g SimpleString, 130 tests / 238 checks) against both the original and fixed source — identicalOKresults before and after, so this is a pure bug fix with no behavior change for any existing test or non-empty-string caller.