Parse, Don't Validate: Enhancing C Security with Type Safety
2025-07-13
This post advocates for a 'Parse, Don't Validate' approach in C programming. By defining custom types (e.g., email_t, name_t) and parsing untrusted input into these types immediately, the inherent risks of pointer manipulation and type mismatches in C are mitigated. This strategy confines raw string handling to the system's boundaries, prevents internal function misuse, and leverages the compiler's type checking to catch errors like parameter swapping. The result is more robust and maintainable C code with reduced attack surface.
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