[clang] Diagnose noreturn calls from a const or pure function (PR #206134)

Aaron Ballman via cfe-commits cfe-commits at lists.llvm.org
Fri Jun 26 10:53:18 PDT 2026


https://github.com/AaronBallman updated https://github.com/llvm/llvm-project/pull/206134

>From f9b4076e0d01c281b9d64c48f180a0272e8996e2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aaron Ballman <aaron at aaronballman.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:33:47 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Diagnose noreturn calls from a const or pure function

The const and pure functions add the WillReturn LLVM IR attribute which
require the function to return. Calling a noreturn function is UB, so
it is now being diagnosed unless the call is known to be unevaluated.

This diagnostic is enabled by default.

Fixes #129022
---
 clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst                   |  4 +-
 .../clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td        |  7 ++
 clang/lib/Sema/SemaExpr.cpp                   | 17 +++++
 clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c             | 71 ++++++++++++++++++-
 4 files changed, 97 insertions(+), 2 deletions(-)

diff --git a/clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst b/clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
index 7fb3f273c5608..ce9553ca61920 100644
--- a/clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
+++ b/clang/docs/ReleaseNotes.rst
@@ -527,7 +527,9 @@ Attribute Changes in Clang
   ISO 18037 fixed-point ``printf`` specifiers.
 
 - The ``const`` and ``pure`` attributes only apply to functions; they are now
-  diagnosed and ignored when applied to anything else.
+  diagnosed and ignored when applied to anything else. Additionally, calling
+  a function marked ``noreturn`` from a function marked ``const`` or ``pure``
+  is now diagnosed as undefined behavior (#GH129022).
 
 Improvements to Clang's diagnostics
 -----------------------------------
diff --git a/clang/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td b/clang/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td
index 7e20630708312..a2d9851ce4a1f 100644
--- a/clang/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td
+++ b/clang/include/clang/Basic/DiagnosticSemaKinds.td
@@ -796,6 +796,13 @@ def warn_const_attr_with_pure_attr : Warning<
 def warn_pure_function_returns_void : Warning<
   "'%select{pure|const}0' attribute on function returning 'void'; attribute ignored">,
   InGroup<IgnoredAttributes>;
+def warn_const_pure_noreturn_call : Warning<
+  "calling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the "
+  "'%select{pure|const}0' attribute is undefined behavior">,
+  InGroup<DiagGroup<"noreturn-const-pure">>;
+def note_const_pure_noreturn_call : Note<
+  "function declared '%select{pure|const}0' here">;
+
 
 def warn_suggest_noreturn_function : Warning<
   "%select{function|method}0 %1 could be declared with attribute 'noreturn'">,
diff --git a/clang/lib/Sema/SemaExpr.cpp b/clang/lib/Sema/SemaExpr.cpp
index 7c868d176e803..953d483b2129b 100644
--- a/clang/lib/Sema/SemaExpr.cpp
+++ b/clang/lib/Sema/SemaExpr.cpp
@@ -7388,6 +7388,23 @@ ExprResult Sema::BuildResolvedCallExpr(Expr *Fn, NamedDecl *NDecl,
     }
   }
 
+  // Diagnose calls to noreturn functions from within a function declared as
+  // being const or pure; this is undefined behavior. But only if the expression
+  // is actually evaluated.
+  if ((FDecl && FDecl->isNoReturn()) || (FuncT && FuncT->getNoReturnAttr())) {
+    if (clang::Scope *Parent = CurScope->getFnParent()) {
+      if (const Decl *D = dyn_cast<Decl>(Parent->getEntity());
+          D && (D->hasAttr<ConstAttr>() || D->hasAttr<PureAttr>())) {
+        DiagRuntimeBehavior(Fn->getExprLoc(), Fn,
+                            PDiag(diag::warn_const_pure_noreturn_call)
+                                << D->hasAttr<ConstAttr>());
+        DiagRuntimeBehavior(D->getLocation(), Fn,
+                            PDiag(diag::note_const_pure_noreturn_call)
+                                << D->hasAttr<ConstAttr>());
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
   // Do special checking on direct calls to functions.
   if (FDecl) {
     if (CheckFunctionCall(FDecl, TheCall, Proto))
diff --git a/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c b/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c
index 43e22eb34014d..e378cad62bacc 100644
--- a/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c
+++ b/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@ __attribute__((const)) int temp_func1(Ty);
 // FIXME: this should be diagnosed because it ends up with both the const and pure attributes.
 template <>
 [[gnu::pure]] int temp_func1<int>(int) { return 12; }
-#endif
+#endif // __cplusplus
 
 // They do not apply to types, including function pointer types.
 int (*fp1)(void) [[gnu::const]]; // expected-warning {{attribute 'gnu::const' ignored, because it cannot be applied to a type}}
@@ -64,3 +64,72 @@ __attribute__((pure)) int func8(void);
   return 12;
 }
 
+[[noreturn]] void direct_noreturn(void);
+// FIXME: the cast should not be necessary.
+void (*indirect_noreturn)(void) __attribute__((noreturn)) = (__typeof__(indirect_noreturn)) direct_noreturn;
+void returns_okay();
+
+__attribute__((const)) int noreturn_test1(void) {
+  returns_okay();
+  return 12;
+}
+
+__attribute__((const)) int noreturn_test2(void) { // expected-note {{function declared 'const' here}}
+  direct_noreturn(); // expected-warning {{alling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the 'const' attribute is undefined behavior}}
+  return 12;
+}
+
+__attribute__((const)) int noreturn_test3(void) { // expected-note {{function declared 'const' here}}
+  indirect_noreturn(); // expected-warning {{alling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the 'const' attribute is undefined behavior}}
+  return 12;
+}
+
+__attribute__((const)) int noreturn_test4(void) {
+  // This should not be diagnosed.
+  (void)sizeof((direct_noreturn(), 1));
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+  if constexpr(false) {
+	// This should not be diagnosed.
+    direct_noreturn();
+  }
+#endif // __cplusplus
+
+  if (0) {
+	// This should not be diagnosed.
+    direct_noreturn();
+  }
+
+  return 12;
+}
+
+__attribute__((pure)) int noreturn_test5(int x) { // expected-note {{function declared 'pure' here}}
+  if (x)
+    direct_noreturn(); // expected-warning {{calling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the 'pure' attribute is undefined behavior}}
+  return 12;
+}
+
+// FIXME: should this be diagnosed because of the noreturn call?
+[[gnu::pure]] int noreturn_test6(int array[(direct_noreturn(), 1)]);
+
+#ifdef __cplusplus
+
+template <typename Ty>
+int noreturn_test7(void) {
+  direct_noreturn(); // okay
+  return 12;
+}
+
+template <>
+__attribute__((const)) int noreturn_test7<int>() { // expected-note {{function declared 'const' here}}
+  direct_noreturn(); // expected-warning {{calling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the 'const' attribute is undefined behavior}}
+  return 12;
+}
+
+template <typename Ty>
+__attribute__((pure)) int noreturn_test8() { // expected-note {{function declared 'pure' here}}
+  // Diagnosed even though test7 is not instantiated
+  direct_noreturn(); // expected-warning {{calling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the 'pure' attribute is undefined behavior}}
+  return 12;
+}
+#endif // __cplusplus

>From 4614eb35479996544ed826f3c8dd27592f396638 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Aaron Ballman <aaron at aaronballman.com>
Date: Fri, 26 Jun 2026 13:52:54 -0400
Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Update based on review feedback

---
 clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c | 14 +++++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 13 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c b/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c
index e378cad62bacc..0a34c705a069d 100644
--- a/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c
+++ b/clang/test/Sema/attr-const-pure.c
@@ -128,8 +128,20 @@ __attribute__((const)) int noreturn_test7<int>() { // expected-note {{function d
 
 template <typename Ty>
 __attribute__((pure)) int noreturn_test8() { // expected-note {{function declared 'pure' here}}
-  // Diagnosed even though test7 is not instantiated
+  // Diagnosed even though noreturn_test8 is not instantiated
   direct_noreturn(); // expected-warning {{calling a 'noreturn' function from a function with the 'pure' attribute is undefined behavior}}
   return 12;
 }
+
+template <typename T>
+[[gnu::pure]] int noreturn_test9() {
+  // No diagnostic expected without an instantiation because the call cannot be
+  // resolved yet.
+  T::nrcall();
+  return 12;
+}
+
+struct S {
+  [[noreturn]] void nrcall();
+};
 #endif // __cplusplus



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