strlcat(3) - NetBSD Manual Pages

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STRLCPY(3)              NetBSD Library Functions Manual             STRLCPY(3)


NAME

     strlcpy, strlcat -- size-bounded string copying and concatenation


LIBRARY

     Standard C Library (libc, -lc)


SYNOPSIS

     #include <string.h>

     size_t
     strlcpy(char *dst, const char *src, size_t size);

     size_t
     strlcat(char *dst, const char *src, size_t size);


DESCRIPTION

     The strlcpy() and strlcat() functions copy and concatenate NUL-terminated
     strings respectively.

     The strlcpy() function copies up to size - 1 bytes from the
     NUL-terminated string src to dst, NUL-terminating the result.

     The strlcat() function appends the NUL-terminated string src to the end
     of dst.  It will append at most size - strlen(dst) - 1 bytes,
     NUL-terminating the result.

   Relation to strncpy(3) and strncat(3)
     Unlike strncpy(3) and strncat(3), strlcpy() and strlcat() are guaranteed
     to NUL-terminate the result (as long as size is larger than 0 or, in the
     case of strlcat(), as long as there is at least one byte free in dst).
     Note that you should include a byte for the NUL in size.

     WARNING: Also unlike strncpy(3) and strncat(3), strlcpy() and strlcat()
     are not guaranteed to initialize all size bytes of dst -- bytes past
     dst[strlen(src) + 1] are left uninitialized.  This can lead to security
     vulnerabilities such as leaking secrets from uninitialized stack or heap
     buffers.

     WARNING: strlcpy() and strlcat() only operate on true ``C'' strings.
     This means that for strlcpy() src must be NUL-terminated and for
     strlcat() both src and dst must be NUL-terminated.  Applications handling
     fixed-width fields with (possibly empty) NUL padding, instead of
     NUL-terminated C strings, MUST use strncpy(3) and strncat(3) instead.
     Attempting to use strlcpy() or strlcat() for these cases can lead to
     crashes or security vulnerabilities from buffer overruns.


RETURN VALUES

     The strlcpy() and strlcat() functions return the total length of the
     string they tried to create.  For strlcpy() that means the length of src.
     For strlcat() that means the initial length of dst plus the length of
     src.  While this may seem somewhat confusing it was done to make trunca-
     tion detection simple.

     Note however, that if strlcat() traverses size bytes without finding a
     NUL, the length of the string is considered to be size and the destina-
     tion string will not be NUL-terminated (since there was no space for the
     NUL).  This keeps strlcat() from running off the end of a string.  In
     practice this should not happen (as it means that either size is incor-
     rect or that dst is not a proper ``C'' string).  The check exists to pre-
     vent potential security problems in incorrect code.


EXAMPLES

     The following code fragment illustrates the simple case:

           char *s, *p, buf[BUFSIZ];

           ...

           strlcpy(buf, s, sizeof(buf));
           strlcat(buf, p, sizeof(buf));

     To detect truncation, perhaps while building a pathname, something like
     the following might be used:

           char *dir, *file, pname[MAXPATHLEN];

           ...

           if (strlcpy(pname, dir, sizeof(pname)) >= sizeof(pname))
                   goto toolong;
           if (strlcat(pname, file, sizeof(pname)) >= sizeof(pname))
                   goto toolong;

     Since we know how many bytes we copied the first time, we can speed
     things up a bit by using a copy instead of an append:

           char *dir, *file, pname[MAXPATHLEN];
           size_t n;

           ...

           n = strlcpy(pname, dir, sizeof(pname));
           if (n >= sizeof(pname))
                   goto toolong;
           if (strlcpy(pname + n, file, sizeof(pname) - n) >= sizeof(pname) - n)
                   goto toolong;

     However, one may question the validity of such optimizations, as they
     defeat the whole purpose of strlcpy() and strlcat().


SEE ALSO

     snprintf(3), strncat(3), strncpy(3)

     Todd C. Miller and Theo de Raadt, "strlcpy and strlcat -- Consistent,
     Safe, String Copy and Concatenation", Proceedings of the FREENIX Track:
     1999 USENIX Annual Technical Conference, USENIX Association,
     http://www.usenix.org/publications/library/proceedings/usenix99/full_papers/millert/millert.pdf,
     June 6-11, 1999.


HISTORY

     The strlcpy() and strlcat() functions first appeared in OpenBSD 2.4, then
     in NetBSD 1.4.3 and FreeBSD 3.3.

NetBSD 10.1                     August 11, 2023                    NetBSD 10.1