typetools / typetools/checker-framework

dereference.of.nullable on a local variable after call in nested try-finally

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#3,015 1 comment 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub

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Dataflow False Positive (false warning or imprecision)
Dominant language
Java
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Avg merge
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Merged PRs (30d)
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Description

Minimized from the real code:

$ cat Monitor.java
class Monitor {
  void acquire() {
    String s = "";

    try {
      return;
    } finally {
      try {
        signal();
      } finally {
        s.toString();
      }
    }
  }

  void signal() {}
}

$ checker/bin/javac -processor org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.NullnessChecker Monitor.java
Monitor.java:11: error: [dereference.of.nullable] dereference of possibly-null reference s
        s.toString();
        ^
1 error

I don't think there's a way for s to be null there.

Source file and -version -verbose -AprintAllQualifiers output attached.

Contributor guide

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First steps

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  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by compiling the minimized Monitor.java example with checker/bin/javac and the NullnessChecker, then inspect how nested try-finally control flow is analyzed. Use the reported dereference.of.nullable diagnostic as the regression case; done means s.toString() is accepted when s is initialized to a non-null value.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
java
Domain
devtools
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
42/100

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