[Clang-tidy] check for malloc, realloc and free calls

[JonasToth]

Summary

This checker flags the use of C-style memory management functionality and notes about modern alternatives.
In an earlier revision it tried to autofix some kind of patterns, but that was a bad idea. Since memory management can be so widespread in a program, manual updating is most likely necessary.
Maybe for special cases, there could be later additions to this basic checker.

This is the first checker I wrote and I never did something with clang (only compiling programs). So whenever I missed conventions or did plain retarded stuff, feel free to point it out! I am willing to fix them and write a better checker.

I hope the patch does work, I never did this either. On a testapply in my repository it did, but I am pretty unconfident in my patching skills :)

[Eugene.Zelenko]

Please mention this check in docs/ReleaseNotes.rst (in alphabetical order).

Please run Clang-format over test case.

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

148 ↗

(On Diff #76484)

Please don't use auto when type could not be easily deduced.

docs/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-no-malloc.rst

6 ↗

(On Diff #76484)

Please add documentation.

test/clang-tidy/modernize-no-malloc.cpp

3 ↗

(On Diff #76484)

Non needed extra empty line.

5 ↗

(On Diff #76484)

Non needed extra empty line.

64 ↗

(On Diff #76484)

Non needed extra empty lines.

78 ↗

(On Diff #76484)

Non needed extra empty line.

[JonasToth]

I added documentation, mentioned nomalloccheck in the release notes and reformated the testcase.

Furthermore i realized that there is a problem with the code transformation in the following case:

malloc(sizeof(struct S) * count);
// becomes
new struct S[count];

This is invalid, struct must be removed. I did not figure it out fast, but i added a bug note in the documentation and will take care of this.

[Eugene.Zelenko]

If this is part of C++ Core Guidelines, will be good idea to add alias in cppcoreguidelines group.

Will be good idea to add calloc support, at least when default constructors are present.

docs/ReleaseNotes.rst

87

Stile -> style.

I think operator `new` will be more correct wording. Same in documentation.

docs/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-no-malloc.rst

9 ↗

(On Diff #76608)

Please highlight malloc, free with ``. Same below.

46 ↗

(On Diff #76608)

Stile -> stile.

47 ↗

(On Diff #76608)

Will be good idea to link to relevant guideline.

[JonasToth]

I adjusted the first comments from Eugene

[JonasToth]

docs/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-no-malloc.rst

47 ↗

(On Diff #76608)

I have a link in the intro:
See `CppCoreGuidlines
https://github.com/isocpp/CppCoreGuidelines/blob/master/CppCoreGuidelines.md#r-resource-management`
This is the very general section. Since I recomment std::make_unique<type[]> and so on, i think its a good lecture.

Section [R.10] is for malloc specific, i will add this one. What about the reference in the diagnostics? I have [R.10] in one, but the others didnt seem to fit.

[Eugene.Zelenko]

docs/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-no-malloc.rst

47 ↗

(On Diff #76608)

Sorry, I overlook link. Please use C++ Core Guidelines in text (two places) for consistency with other cppcoreguidelines checks documentation.

[JonasToth]

Fixing the issues pointed out by eugene, only documentation related.

[JonasToth]

adjusted the issues in a new patch

[JonasToth]

i forgot release not adjustment, sry :/

[hokein]

@JonasToth, welcome to llvm community and thanks for your contribution.

Could you please read [LLVM code style](http://llvm.org/docs/CodingStandards.html) and make your code align with the code style (specially in LLVM we use Camel Case for variable/function name)? And you can use clang-format to help you automatically handle other code style issues.

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

19 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

The comment doesn't give any information here. It is fine to delete it.

35 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

Looks like you forgot to delete this comment.

84 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

const auto* size_of

87 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

Since you use early return in if statement.
You can remove the else here. The same below.

109 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

The code can be simplified to if (const auto* CastMatch = Result.Nodes.getNodeAs<CStyleCastExpr>("c_cast");). The same below.

149 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

Seems to me that this is not a valid C++ statement?

164 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

no else either.

171 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

no else.

212 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

It can be written as if (infer_sizeof_type(arg->getLHS(), type)) {. The same below.

251 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

no else.

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.h

19 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

I think the check should be holding in cppcoreguidelines module.

docs/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-no-malloc.rst

45 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

As you mentioned in the paragraph, only replacing new and leaving free behind is an incomplete. which will mess up new and free usage. Can't we also replace free to delete?

52 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

Can we ignore these types in the check? otherwise, it will make the check give incorrect warnings on these types.

test/clang-tidy/modernize-no-malloc.cpp

3 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

We don't use standard library header directly in lint tests. You can declare malloc, free function by yourself.

[JonasToth]

iam fixing the style issues at the moment. since these are some, it will take a little :)

what is your thought on removing the fixing? this will make this check more simple, but more robust as well.

maybe i can add options to the check, that will enable some fixes. but this would then be a further enhancement to the
basic check that just warns about the c style memory management.

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

149 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

why not? it compiles and seemed to work quite well :)

docs/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-no-malloc.rst

45 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

iam thinking about to remove the fixing in general.
the problem with replacing free with delete is that there is no consistent information if its an array or a single object.
i dont know if you can keep track of the variable names, but aliasing, deleting in another source file and so on will interfere with it.

i think its a good idea to just warn about all cstyle memory management and point to cppcoreguidelines for information how to change it.

52 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

as said above. i think the fixing wasnt the best idea.

[JonasToth]

adjusted test

[alexfh]

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

149 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

Please don't use alternative tokens. It's not common for LLVM code. Same goes for trigraphs, if you wonder ;)

[alexfh]

Jonas, thank you for the patch!

Please review and internalize http://llvm.org/docs/CodingStandards.html. It will help you and others save a lot of time on code reviews.

docs/ReleaseNotes.rst

87

s/C style/C-style/

[JonasToth]

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

149 ↗

(On Diff #76615)

alright! change is done :)

[JonasToth]

i fixed every part i could find that did not comply with the coding standard. still there might be issues with it, because iam not fluid in them.

furthermore i think it might be a good idea to remove the fixit hints, since it seems to be too error prone. what do you think?

[aaron.ballman]

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

44–46 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

You can remove this kind of comment; it doesn't add clarity.

51 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

I would roll this into countToString(), since it's short and only used once.

64 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

I would roll this into inferSizeofType(); it's a one-liner.

71 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

Should be const auto *.

112 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

s/infere/infer; also, I would use a full stop rather than an exclamation point.

120 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

Can remove the empty whitespace.

144 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

I don't think this is safe to assume, because hasDescendant() traverses farther down the AST than you might expect. You should add a test case like:

void *foo(void *);

void f() {
  (char *)foo(malloc(0));
}

I think that this will match your matcher, but should not be handled here.

145 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

Unlike comments, diagnostics are not meant to be grammatically correct. They should not start with a capital letter (or have terminating punctuation). This comment applies elsewhere as well.

Why is the cast not needed any more?

157–159 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

I am not certain the value of this diagnostic. In C, the cast is not required (as you correctly handle), but in C++, the cast is either required (ill-formed if missing because the types do not match), or is not required because the destination type is void *. Either way, this diagnostic does not help because it's either duplicating a diagnostic from the frontend or it's a false-positive.

163 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

Please use auto * (with const, if possible).

167 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

You should elide the braces (here and elsewhere for single-statement if blocks).

179 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

Why would this be shady? Consider: malloc(NumCharacters + 1), which is going to be quite common. Alternatively, malloc(1 << X);.

210 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

No need for the variable, you can inline the expression into the if clause.

228 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

This diagnostic does not help the user to figure out what's wrong with their code or how to fix it.

[aaron.ballman]

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

22 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

Here, and elsewhere, all comments should be grammatically correct (capitalization and punctuation). Look for missing full stops at the end of a sentence, and make sure the sentence starts with a capital letter.

27 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

You should not register the AST matchers unless in C++ mode (I don't think the check makes sense for C).

[JonasToth]

Iam sorry if this is not so great, but i think i wanted to much with the automatic fixing.
As pointed out in the Code Review, there a issues with the automatic fixing and it most likely wont be of any value for real project. I tested it on a closed source project (70k lines) and it was terrible :D

The checker is now way simpler, just warning about malloc, calloc, realloc and free. Suggesting RAII, Containers or Smartpointers in a note. The diagnostics is now way shorter, and i think easier to work with.
I moved the check into cppcoreguidelines as well. Sry for the wasted time on the first revisions, but i think this one is a better check now.

Special cases like C-strings could be added later, and automatic fixing could be used later. But i think i want a little more experience with the Checker and writing a clang-tidy check first, before i start sth like that.

[alexfh]

Jonas, I suppose, reviewers are waiting until you address all outstanding comments (and mark them "Done") before the next round of review.

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

145 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

"diagnostics are not meant to be grammatically correct" might be too strong ;) They are not supposed to be full sentences (no leading capitalization or trailing punctuation), but otherwise they should be grammatically correct ;)

[JonasToth]

I did mark all comments as done.
Most issues and codelines dont exist anymore, since the checker is now way simpler (just flagging c memorymanagement functions) and giving a note what could be used otherwise.

[alexfh]

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

68–70

A note is used when there's a need to point to a different source location. There's not much sense in just splitting out a part of a warning to a note on the same location.

clang-tidy/modernize/NoMallocCheck.cpp

145 ↗

(On Diff #77379)

This hasn't been addressed as far as I can see.

[JonasToth]

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

68–70

should i add the suggestion to the warning or remove it completly?

[alexfh]

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

68–70

The suggestion is fine, just merge it with the warning. Please also make sure the text is consistent with the other cppcoreguidelines checks (I mean the parts in the square brackets, I'm not sure if other checks follow the same style).

[JonasToth]

Update the diagnostics, only one warning is produced containing the suggestion, no notes anymore.

Furthermore there is an update in 2 comments.

[JonasToth]

adjusted the diagnostics, i also removed the reference to the specific part of the cppcoreguidelines, making it consistent with other checkers.

[alexfh]

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

55

The handle.* methods now just add more bulk and bring no benefit. With a single statement in each function they might as well be inlined and the checkmethod would be still quite compact:

CallExpr Call = nullptr;
StringRef Recommendation;
if ((Call = Result.Nodes.getNodeAs<CallExpr>("aquisition")))
  Recommendation = "consider a container or smartpointer";
else if ((Call = ...))
  ...;

assert(Call && "Unhandled binding in the matcher);

diag(Call->getLocStart(),
     "do not allocate memory manually; %0")
  << Recommendation
  << SourceRange(...);

57

"smart pointer" is two words.

58

Please use parentheses instead of curly braces for constructor calls (SourceRange(x, y)), it's more common in LLVM code.

[JonasToth]

removed the function calls, a little doc tidy as well

[JonasToth]

fixes last review comments from alex

[alexfh]

One important thing is missing. Please run this check on a large enough codebase (LLVM + Clang is a good choice for testing most of kinds of checks usually) and include a summary of results in the patch description. The most important things are: clang-tidy doesn't crash, results (or if there are too many, then a sufficiently large random sample - say, 100) look good on manual inspection.

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

49

nit: a smart pointer (an article is missing).

50

Please remove empty lines before else

[JonasToth]

last fixes in the code, from alex

[JonasToth]

I did run clang-tidy with $(./run-clang-tidy.py -checks=-*,cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc). The resulting output is in the appended file.
Since all warnings came from header files (llvms custom containers?) there are always the same warnings for all source files.
Every function (calloc, malloc, realloc and free) was seen, i hope the output is sufficient.

Whats not nice is, that there is no underlining (in test neither), but i could not find out what is wrong, since i supply a SourceRange in the diag()-call.

tidy_output_no_malloc.txt11 KBDownload

[malcolm.parsons]

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

29

C memory management functions are also present in the std namespace.

docs/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.rst

10

Do you mean #r10-avoid-malloc-and-free?

26

Missing variable.

[JonasToth]

docs/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.rst

10

yes, but i think the wider view is more appropriate. RAII is a general strategy, and not specific to malloc etc.

26

that slipped through. i fix it.

[JonasToth]

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

29

in the clang codebase, std::malloc got catched as well. see the tidy_output_no_malloc.txt in one of my previous comments.

[JonasToth]

fix missing variable in doc

[malcolm.parsons]

docs/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.rst

5

A few = missing.

10

This checker is specific to R.10.
The documentation for all the other cppcoreguidelines checks mention which rule they're enforcing.

[JonasToth]

adjusted doc.

[JonasToth]

docs/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.rst

10

alright. i will adjust.

[alexfh]

LG, but please wait until Malcolm

Whats not nice is, that there is no underlining (in test neither), but i could not find out what is wrong,
since i supply a SourceRange in the diag()-call.

Please leave the range anyway. I suspect clang-tidy doesn't handle ranges in diagnostics correctly, but it's easier to fix this, if there is an example already.

[alexfh]

Hit "submit" too early.

LG, but please wait until Malcolm is happy with the change as well.

[malcolm.parsons]

LGTM.

[alexfh]

Jonas, do you need someone to commit the patch for you?

[JonasToth]

tbh. i dont know anything how the clang workflow works :)

do i need to ask someone to commit, or what be my next step?

[JonasToth]

In D26167#621106, @alexfh wrote:

Jonas, do you need someone to commit the patch for you?

i think so, yes. can i trigger somehow automatically, that this will go into the code base somehow?

[alexfh]

Committed in r289546.

[rnk]

nit: All of the new files had UTF-8 BOMs, which I don't think we usually add.

test/clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.cpp

4

This test did not pass on 32-bit Windows. I will change it to:

using size_t = __SIZE_TYPE__;

[malcolm.parsons]

I tried this check on my company's codebase.
It misses cases where malloc is used through a function pointer.
Should clang-tidy warn about making a function pointer to these functions?

[JDevlieghere]

In D26167#621928, @malcolm.parsons wrote:

I tried this check on my company's codebase.
It misses cases where malloc is used through a function pointer.
Should clang-tidy warn about making a function pointer to these functions?

Sounds like a good idea to me. I can't really imagine a scenario where you'd want to enable this check and not be warned about it.

[JonasToth]

alright, i will try to get the functionpointers as well.
what do you think about configuration of the allocating functions? e.g. for aligned memory you must use OS-specific allocation functions.
should the check catch custom allocation functions as well?

is there a way to make a list of allocation, reallocation, deallocation functions that the check shall look for (+aliases to these)?

[malcolm.parsons]

In D26167#621942, @JonasToth wrote:

what do you think about configuration of the allocating functions? e.g. for aligned memory you must use OS-specific allocation functions.
should the check catch custom allocation functions as well?

Sounds like a good idea to me.

[malcolm.parsons]

In D26167#622792, @malcolm.parsons wrote:

In D26167#621942, @JonasToth wrote:

what do you think about configuration of the allocating functions? e.g. for aligned memory you must use OS-specific allocation functions.
should the check catch custom allocation functions as well?

Sounds like a good idea to me.

I think this check should also warn about strdup(), strndup() and wcsdup().

[kimgr]

Minor spelling nits inline

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

31

Spelling nit: acquisition

But I wonder if there's a simpler word you can use for this, e.g. "alloc"

48

"aquisition" as above

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/CMakeLists.txt

 add_clang_library(clangTidyCppCoreGuidelinesModule
   CppCoreGuidelinesTidyModule.cpp
   InterfacesGlobalInitCheck.cpp
+  NoMallocCheck.cpp
   ProBoundsArrayToPointerDecayCheck.cpp
   ProBoundsConstantArrayIndexCheck.cpp
   ProBoundsPointerArithmeticCheck.cpp

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/CppCoreGuidelinesTidyModule.cpp

 #include "../ClangTidyModuleRegistry.h"
 #include "../misc/UnconventionalAssignOperatorCheck.h"
 #include "InterfacesGlobalInitCheck.h"
+#include "NoMallocCheck.h"
 #include "ProBoundsArrayToPointerDecayCheck.h"
 #include "ProBoundsConstantArrayIndexCheck.h"
 #include "ProBoundsPointerArithmeticCheck.h"

   void addCheckFactories(ClangTidyCheckFactories &CheckFactories) override {
     CheckFactories.registerCheck<InterfacesGlobalInitCheck>(
         "cppcoreguidelines-interfaces-global-init");
+    CheckFactories.registerCheck<NoMallocCheck>("cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc");
     CheckFactories.registerCheck<ProBoundsArrayToPointerDecayCheck>(
         "cppcoreguidelines-pro-bounds-array-to-pointer-decay");
     CheckFactories.registerCheck<ProBoundsConstantArrayIndexCheck>(

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.h

+//===--- NoMallocCheck.h - clang-tidy----------------------------*- C++ -*-===//
+//
+//                     The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure
+//
+// This file is distributed under the University of Illinois Open Source
+// License. See LICENSE.TXT for details.
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+#ifndef LLVM_CLANG_TOOLS_EXTRA_CLANG_TIDY_CPPCOREGUIDELINES_NO_MALLOC_H
+#define LLVM_CLANG_TOOLS_EXTRA_CLANG_TIDY_CPPCOREGUIDELINES_NO_MALLOC_H
+
+#include "../ClangTidy.h"
+#include "clang/AST/ASTContext.h"
+#include "clang/ASTMatchers/ASTMatchFinder.h"
+
+namespace clang {
+namespace tidy {
+namespace cppcoreguidelines {
+
+/// This checker is concerned with C-style memory management and suggest modern
+/// alternatives to it.
+/// The check is only enabled in C++. For analyzing malloc calls see Clang
+/// Static Analyzer - unix.Malloc.
+///
+/// For the user-facing documentation see:
+/// http://clang.llvm.org/extra/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.html
+class NoMallocCheck : public ClangTidyCheck {
+public:
+  NoMallocCheck(StringRef Name, ClangTidyContext *Context)
+      : ClangTidyCheck(Name, Context) {}
+
+  /// Registering for malloc, calloc, realloc and free calls.
+  void registerMatchers(ast_matchers::MatchFinder *Finder) override;
+
+  /// Checks matched function calls and gives suggestion to modernize the code.
+  void check(const ast_matchers::MatchFinder::MatchResult &Result) override;
+};
+
+} // namespace cppcoreguidelines
+} // namespace tidy
+} // namespace clang
+
+#endif // LLVM_CLANG_TOOLS_EXTRA_CLANG_TIDY_CPPCOREGUIDELINES_NO_MALLOC_H

clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines/NoMallocCheck.cpp

+//===--- NoMallocCheck.cpp - clang-tidy------------------------------------===//
+//
+//                     The LLVM Compiler Infrastructure
+//
+// This file is distributed under the University of Illinois Open Source
+// License. See LICENSE.TXT for details.
+//
+//===----------------------------------------------------------------------===//
+
+#include "NoMallocCheck.h"
+#include "clang/AST/ASTContext.h"
+#include "clang/ASTMatchers/ASTMatchFinder.h"
+#include <iostream>
+#include <string>
+
+using namespace clang::ast_matchers;
+
+namespace clang {
+namespace tidy {
+namespace cppcoreguidelines {
+
+void NoMallocCheck::registerMatchers(MatchFinder *Finder) {
+  // C-style memory management is only problematic in C++.
+  if (!getLangOpts().CPlusPlus)
+    return;
+
+  // Registering malloc, will suggest RAII.
+  Finder->addMatcher(
+      callExpr(callee(functionDecl(hasAnyName("::malloc", "::calloc"))))
+          .bind("aquisition"),
+      this);
+
+  // Registering realloc calls, suggest std::vector or std::string.
+  Finder->addMatcher(
+      callExpr(callee(functionDecl(hasName("::realloc")))).bind("realloc"),
+      this);
+
+  // Registering free calls, will suggest RAII instead.
+  Finder->addMatcher(
+      callExpr(callee(functionDecl(hasName("::free")))).bind("free"), this);
+}
+
+void NoMallocCheck::check(const MatchFinder::MatchResult &Result) {
+  const CallExpr *Call = nullptr;
+  StringRef Recommendation;
+
+  if ((Call = Result.Nodes.getNodeAs<CallExpr>("aquisition")))
+    Recommendation = "consider a container or a smart pointer";
+  else if ((Call = Result.Nodes.getNodeAs<CallExpr>("realloc")))
+    Recommendation = "consider std::vector or std::string";
+  else if ((Call = Result.Nodes.getNodeAs<CallExpr>("free")))
+    Recommendation = "use RAII";
+
+  assert(Call && "Unhandled binding in the Matcher");
+
+  diag(Call->getLocStart(), "do not manage memory manually; %0")
+      << Recommendation << SourceRange(Call->getLocStart(), Call->getLocEnd());
+}
+
+} // namespace cppcoreguidelines
+} // namespace tidy
+} // namespace clang

docs/ReleaseNotes.rst

   Warns if an object is used after it has been moved, without an intervening
   reinitialization.
 
+- New `cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc 
+  <http://clang.llvm.org/extra/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.html>`_ check
+  warns if C-style memory management is used and suggests the use of RAII.
+
 - `modernize-make-unique
   <http://clang.llvm.org/extra/clang-tidy/checks/modernize-make-unique.html>`_
   and `modernize-make-shared

docs/clang-tidy/checks/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.rst

+.. title:: clang-tidy - cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc
+
+cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc
+===================
+
+This check handles C-Style memory management using ``malloc()``, ``realloc()``, 
+``calloc()`` and ``free()``. It warns about its use and tries to suggest the use 
+of an appropriate RAII object.
+See `C++ Core Guidelines
+<https://github.com/isocpp/CppCoreGuidelines/blob/master/CppCoreGuidelines.md#r-resource-management>`
+
+There is no attempt made to provide fixit hints, since manual resource management isn't
+easily transformed automatically into RAII.
+
+.. code-block:: c++
+
+  // Warns each of the following lines.
+  // Containers like std::vector or std::string should be used.
+  char* some_string = (char*) malloc(sizeof(char) * 20); 
+  char* some_string = (char*) realloc(sizeof(char) * 30);
+  free(some_string);
+
+  int* int_array = (int*) calloc(30, sizeof(int)); 
+
+  // Rather use a smartpointer or stack variable.
+  struct some_struct* = (struct some_struct*) malloc(sizeof(struct some_struct));
+

docs/clang-tidy/checks/list.rst

    cert-msc50-cpp
    cert-oop11-cpp (redirects to misc-move-constructor-init) <cert-oop11-cpp>
    cppcoreguidelines-interfaces-global-init
+   cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc
    cppcoreguidelines-pro-bounds-array-to-pointer-decay
    cppcoreguidelines-pro-bounds-constant-array-index
    cppcoreguidelines-pro-bounds-pointer-arithmetic

test/clang-tidy/cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc.cpp

+// RUN: %check_clang_tidy %s cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc %t
+
+using size_t = unsigned long;
+
+void *malloc(size_t size);
+void *calloc(size_t num, size_t size);
+void *realloc(void *ptr, size_t size);
+void free(void *ptr);
+
+void malloced_array() {
+  int *array0 = (int *)malloc(sizeof(int) * 20);
+  // CHECK-MESSAGES: :[[@LINE-1]]:24: warning: do not manage memory manually; consider a container or a smart pointer [cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc]
+
+  int *zeroed = (int *)calloc(20, sizeof(int));
+  // CHECK-MESSAGES: :[[@LINE-1]]:24: warning: do not manage memory manually; consider a container or a smart pointer [cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc]
+
+  // reallocation memory, std::vector shall be used
+  char *realloced = (char *)realloc(array0, 50 * sizeof(int));
+  // CHECK-MESSAGES: :[[@LINE-1]]:29: warning: do not manage memory manually; consider std::vector or std::string [cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc]
+
+  // freeing memory the bad way
+  free(realloced);
+  // CHECK-MESSAGES: :[[@LINE-1]]:3: warning: do not manage memory manually; use RAII [cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc]
+
+  // check if a call to malloc as function argument is found as well
+  free(malloc(20));
+  // CHECK-MESSAGES: :[[@LINE-1]]:3: warning: do not manage memory manually; use RAII [cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc]
+  // CHECK-MESSAGES: :[[@LINE-2]]:8: warning: do not manage memory manually; consider a container or a smart pointer [cppcoreguidelines-no-malloc]
+}
+
+/// newing an array is still not good, but not relevant to this checker
+void newed_array() {
+  int *new_array = new int[10]; // OK(1)
+}
+
+void arbitrary_call() {
+  // we dont want every function to raise the warning even if malloc is in the name
+  malloced_array(); // OK(2)
+
+  // completly unrelated function call to malloc
+  newed_array(); // OK(3)
+}