SystemC error, using visual c++ 2008

Question

I am using systemC with visual C++ 2008. I wrote a simple hello world program. However I am getting this error repeatedly:

warning C4996: 'sprintf': This function or variable may be unsafe.

Why this is happening? I would appreciate any help.

Answer 1

The compiler warns against sprintf() use because it may cause buffer overflow since it doesn't check buffer's limit. Instead, use snprintf() which never fills the buffer beyond the passed-in limit.

This advice is also given by the manpage:

Because sprintf() and vsprintf() assume an arbitrarily long string, callers must be careful not to overflow the actual space; this is often impossible to assure. Note that the length of the strings produced is locale-dependent and difficult to predict. Use snprintf() and vsnprintf() instead (or asprintf(3) and vasprintf(3)).

Answer 2

It's insecure because - From MSDN

There is no way to limit the number of characters written, which means that code using sprintf is susceptible to buffer overruns. Consider using the related function _snprintf, which specifies a maximum number of characters to be written to buffer, or use _scprintf to determine how large a buffer is required. Also, ensure that format is not a user-defined string.