Replace strncpy(3)

[alejandro-colomar]

Hi,

I've seen strncpy(3) being used in the code for copying strings. Ideally, those could be replaced by strlcpy(3bsd), if libbsd can be depended upon on non-BSD systems. Otherwise, memccpy(3) is the second best replacement.

Problems of strncpy(3):

• It doesn't guarantee NUL termination (memccpy(3) doesn't either).
• It writes the whole remaining of the buffer with '\0's, instead of just 1 '\0'.

In some cases, the writing of the whole buffer with 0s might be actually good, to avoid leaking old values. However, that's better achieved by a separate function call that zeroes the buffer, so I don't think strncpy(3) deserves usage in this project.

What are your thoughts?

[alejandro-colomar]

See the following mailing list thread for a better proposal of replacement: https://alioth-lists.debian.net/pipermail/pkg-shadow-devel/2022-February/013142.html