Exception thrown in destructor¶
ID: cpp/throw-in-destructor
Kind: problem
Severity: warning
Precision: very-high
Tags:
- reliability
- readability
- language-features
Query suites:
- cpp-security-and-quality.qls
Click to see the query in the CodeQL repository
This rule finds exceptions thrown in destructors. This is dangerous: If the destructor is called during stack unwinding as part of the handling of another exception, throwing an additional exception will immediately terminate the program as per the C++ specification.
Recommendation¶
Handle the error condition in a different way.
Example¶
class C {
public:
//...
~C(){
if (error) {
throw "Exception in destructor"; //wrong: exception thrown in destructor
}
}
};
void f() {
C* c = new C();
try {
doOperation(c);
delete c;
} catch ( char * do_operation_exception) {
delete c; //would immediately terminate program if C::~C throws an exception
}
}
References¶
M. Cline, C++ FAQ: How can I handle a destructor that fails?
B. Stroustrup. The C++ Programming Language Special Edition p 380. Addison Wesley. 2000.