Warning C6397
The address-of operator cannot return
null
pointer in well-defined code
Remarks
The address-of operator returns the address of its operand. This value should never be compared to nullptr
:
- The address-of a field can only be
nullptr
if the base pointer wasnullptr
and the field is at the zero offset (&p->field == nullptr
impliesp == nullptr
). In this case, the expression should be simplified. - In any other cases, the value of the unary
&
operator can't benullptr
unless there's undefined behavior in the code (&v == nullptr
always evaluates to false).
Example
bool isNull(int *a)
{
return &a == nullptr; // C6397 reported here.
}
To fix this issue, double check if the use of unary &
was intentional:
bool isNull(int *a)
{
return a == nullptr; // no C6397 reported here.
}