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You can wind up with "an unmaintanable mess riddled with security holes" in any language -- that's not unique to C. Regarding the flaws you have mentioned in C:

You can wind up with "an unmaintanable mess riddled with security holes" in any language -- that's not unique to C. Regarding the flaws you have mentioned in C: Its flaws are very very well known, and this is a virtue. All languages and implementations have gotchas and hangups. C is just far more upfront about it. And there are a ton of static and runtime tools to help you deal with the most common and dangerous mistakes. That some of the most heavily used and reliable software in the world is built on C is proof that the flaws are overblown, and easy to detect and fix.

munin 14y ago
Security holes you wind up with in a Java or whatever codebase take the form of logic errors allowing for compromise of user information, or SQL injection or command injection. These are bad, they totally compromise data and systems. Security holes in C applications allow for the injection of low-level programs. This is way more annoying, IMO. also the static and runtime tools for C are good, and getting better, but still very far from being a replacement for writing code in a memory-safe language.
- jerven 14y ago
  Agree and in C you still have all the bugs of the type that you describe for Java or whatever... It just there is a lot of C out there which means we will see it for ever in our systems somewhere. It will get better over time as tools improve the existing C code base.
MichaelGG 14y ago
That's a misleading statement and I think you know it. In general, you have to go extremely out of your way to end up with a remote code execution exploit with Java or C#. Look at Microsoft's CVEs for 2012. Approximately all of the serious ones would be impossible with a proper type system. This is after all of Microsoft's static analysis tools and code reviews and security focus.
betterunix 14y ago
"You can wind up with "an unmaintanable mess riddled with security holes" in any language" Sure, but it is much, much, much easier to do in C than in other languages. By default you have unchecked array access, fixed width integers, strings terminated by a special character, and tons of exploitable undefined behavior. Writing secure code in C takes substantial effort, substantially more than in other languages.

munin 14y ago

Security holes you wind up with in a Java or whatever codebase take the form of logic errors allowing for compromise of user information, or SQL injection or command injection. These are bad, they totally compromise data and systems. Security holes in C applications allow for the injection of low-level programs. This is way more annoying, IMO. also the static and runtime tools for C are good, and getting better, but still very far from being a replacement for writing code in a memory-safe language.

jerven 14y ago
Agree and in C you still have all the bugs of the type that you describe for Java or whatever... It just there is a lot of C out there which means we will see it for ever in our systems somewhere. It will get better over time as tools improve the existing C code base.

MichaelGG 14y ago

That's a misleading statement and I think you know it. In general, you have to go extremely out of your way to end up with a remote code execution exploit with Java or C#. Look at Microsoft's CVEs for 2012. Approximately all of the serious ones would be impossible with a proper type system. This is after all of Microsoft's static analysis tools and code reviews and security focus.

betterunix 14y ago

"You can wind up with "an unmaintanable mess riddled with security holes" in any language" Sure, but it is much, much, much easier to do in C than in other languages. By default you have unchecked array access, fixed width integers, strings terminated by a special character, and tons of exploitable undefined behavior. Writing secure code in C takes substantial effort, substantially more than in other languages.