Best Static Analysis Tools for C/C++ in 2023

  • Author: Lukas Charvat
  • Published: 9/9/2023
  • Tags: #staticcodeanalysis #sca #ccodeanalysis #staticanalysiscpp
Best Static Analysis Tools for C/C++ in 2023

Static analysis tools are invaluable for finding bugs and security vulnerabilities in C/C++ code before you run it. They can catch issues that are easy to miss during code reviews. In this listicle, we will cover the top 5 static analyzers to improve the quality and security of your C/C++ projects.

Cppcheck

Cppcheck is an open source, cross-platform tool for static analysis of C/C++ code. It provides a detailed report of possible bugs like null pointer dereferences, array out of bounds errors, or divide by zero. Cppcheck is fast and has low false positives. It is easy to integrate into CI pipelines.

Key Features

  • Lightweight and fast.
  • Generaters only few false positives.
  • Detected issues include buffer overruns, memory leaks, null pointers, inefficient code.
  • Stardardized gcc-like error reporting allows easy integration with IDEs (Visual Studio, CLion).

Disadvantages

  • Does not detect more complex errors. (Because it orients on low false positive rates.)

Clang Static Analyzer

Developed by LLVM, Clang Static Analyzer leverages the Clang compiler infrastructure to analyze C/C++ code for bugs as its being compiled. It finds issues like null pointers, incorrect API usage, and resource leaks. The analyzer can provide step-by-step explanations of reported defects.

Key Features

  • High precision analysis.
  • Clean and simple command line interface.
  • Integrated into Clang/LLVM toolchain.
  • Stardardized clang-like error reports allows easy integration with IDEs (Visual Studio, CLion).

Disadvantages

  • Based on Clang/LLVM. More complex to run if one uses Visual Studio, gcc, or other compiler chain.

Flawfinder

Flawfinder is a simple open source tool that scans C/C++ code specifically for potential security vulnerabilities. It matches code snippets against an internal database of unsafe functions, variables, and practices. Flawfinder prioritizes results by risk level for quick review.

Key Features

  • Lightweight security focused analysis.
  • Quickly highlights high risk functions.
  • Easy command line usage.
  • Portable Python codebase.
  • Stardardized gcc-like error reporting allows easy integration with IDEs (Visual Studio, CLion).

Disadvantages

  • Requires Python to run.
  • Does not detect more complex errors.
  • Orients mainly on pattern-matching of well-known CWEs.

Coverity

Coverity by Synopsys is a commercial static analysis tool focused on detecting critical software defects and security vulnerabilities. It has over 2000 checks including null pointers, bad casting, resource leaks, race conditions. Coverity requires some setup but can integrate into developer workflows. Futhermore, a free static-analysis cloud-based service named Coverity Scan is offered for the open source community.

Key Features

  • Strong security and defect analysis.
  • Cloud-based analysis with web UI.
  • Scales to large codebases.
  • Integrates well with CI systems.

Disadvantages

  • Paid solution.
  • Requires some time for setup.

Frama-C

Frama-C is an open source static analyzer for C programs developed in France. It provides a pluggable framework to build custom analyzers for security, safety, etc. Frama-C leverages abstract interpretation techniques to detect issues like null pointers, assertion failures, runtime errors, and undefined behavior bugs.

Key Features

  • Formally-verified analyses built on solid foundations.
  • Very strong and precise analysis thanks to the ACSL language.
  • Modular framework to build custom analyzers.
  • Detects undefined behaviors and interprocedural bugs.

Disadvantages

  • Solvers might timeout. Hints needs to be added.
  • Very complex to setup and use.
  • Current version of IDE (Ivette) is buggy on some systems.

Conclusion

These static analyzers can uncover bugs in your C and C++ programs before they turn into major headaches down the road. These tools complement testing and code reviews by applying sophisticated analysis techniques like dataflow analysis and symbolic execution to find corner case defects. Therefore, I really recommend that you consider adding one of these tools into your IDEs and daily builds today.