Keep the value unchanged when operator[] with a JSON pointer throws

The non-const operator[](json_pointer) is documented with strong exception
safety, but get_unchecked created intermediate values while walking the
pointer and kept them when a later reference token failed, e.g.
json j; j["/a/99999999999999999999999"_json_pointer] threw 404 and left
{"a":[]}; padding an existing array or appending with "-" behaved alike,
and so did std::length_error/std::bad_alloc from a huge index.

get_unchecked now only walks existing values up to the last reference
token. The last token's key insertion or array growth is strongly
exception safe by itself. Any other change goes through
get_unchecked_create, which records the one change it makes to an existing
value (null converted, key inserted, array grown) in a RAII guard and
reverts it if a later step throws; everything else it creates lies below
that change. The guard needs no try/catch, so JSON_NOEXCEPTION builds are
unaffected. Successful calls create the same values as before.

Docs: state the guarantee in the exceptions list and version history of
operator[], fix the complexity of the pointer overloads of operator[] and
at, and warn that padding arrays up to an untrusted index allocates memory
proportional to the index (operator[].md, untrusted_input.md).

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann authored and GitHub committed 2026-10-26 17:13:52 +01:00
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@@ -90,7 +90,8 @@ Strong exception safety: if an exception occurs, the original value stays intact
1. Constant.
2. Logarithmic in the size of the container.
3. Logarithmic in the size of the container.
4. Logarithmic in the size of the container.
4. Linear in the number of reference tokens of `ptr`; for each of them, logarithmic in the size of the object, or
constant for an array.
## Notes
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@@ -92,12 +92,18 @@ Strong exception safety: if an exception occurs, the original value stays intact
For the **const** version, an object key or array index in `ptr` that does not exist is not reported by an
exception, but is undefined behavior (see the notes below). Use [`at`](at.md) for checked access.
If the **non-const** version throws, the value is left unchanged: values it created for earlier reference tokens
of `ptr` are removed again. This also holds for exceptions such as `#!cpp std::bad_alloc` or
`#!cpp std::length_error` thrown while padding an array up to a very large index.
## Complexity
1. Constant if `idx` is in the range of the array. Otherwise, linear in `idx - size()`.
2. Logarithmic in the size of the container.
3. Logarithmic in the size of the container.
4. Logarithmic in the size of the container.
4. Linear in the number of reference tokens of `ptr`; for each of them, logarithmic in the size of the object, or
constant for an array. When the non-const version pads an array with `#!json null` values, it is additionally
linear in `idx - size()` for that array.
## Notes
@@ -145,6 +151,14 @@ Strong exception safety: if an exception occurs, the original value stays intact
specified by the JSON Pointer RFC; it is this library's own, intentional disambiguation rule. See also
[JSON Pointer](../../features/json_pointer.md).
!!! warning "Large array indices"
As the array is filled up with `#!json null` values to the given index, the memory used grows with the index
and not with the size of the pointer: on a 64-bit platform, the index `10000000` allocates about 160 MB.
The library does not limit the index, so check the array indices of a JSON pointer from untrusted input
before using it with the non-const version. See
[Parsing untrusted input](../../features/parsing/untrusted_input.md#json-pointers-and-flattened-keys).
!!! warning "Deprecation"
Overload (4) also accepts a [`json_pointer`](../json_pointer/index.md) whose template argument is a `basic_json`
@@ -294,4 +308,6 @@ Strong exception safety: if an exception occurs, the original value stays intact
4. Added in version 2.0.0. A missing array index in the const version is guarded by a runtime assertion since
version 3.13.0. Throws [`parse_error.109`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionparse_error109) instead of
[`out_of_range.404`](../../home/exceptions.md#jsonexceptionout_of_range404) for a one-character array index that is not
a digit (e.g., `/x`) in version 3.13.0, as it already did for longer ones.
a digit (e.g., `/x`) in version 3.13.0, as it already did for longer ones. Fixed in version 3.13.0 to leave the value
unchanged if the non-const version throws (strong exception safety, as documented); before, values created for earlier
reference tokens of `ptr` were kept.
@@ -130,6 +130,17 @@ parameters of [`parse()`](../../api/basic_json/parse.md) or [`accept()`](../../a
enable either for input whose conformance you cannot otherwise control, since interoperability with strictly
conforming JSON consumers is exactly what the default rejects.
## JSON Pointers and flattened keys
A [JSON Pointer](../json_pointer.md) can come from untrusted input as well, for instance as a path in a request or as a
key of a flattened object. The non-const [`operator[]`](../../api/basic_json/operator%5B%5D.md) with a JSON Pointer and
[`unflatten`](../../api/basic_json/unflatten.md) create missing values, and when an array index lies beyond the end of
an array, they fill the array with `#!json null` values up to that index. The memory used therefore grows with the
index, not with the size of the pointer: on a 64-bit platform, the index `10000000` allocates about 160 MB, the index
`100000000` about 1.6 GB. The library does not limit the index. For pointers from untrusted input, check the array
indices (or the pointer as a whole) before using them, or use [`at`](../../api/basic_json/at.md) or
[`contains`](../../api/basic_json/contains.md), which never add values.
## Checklist
- Wrap parsing in a `#!cpp try`/`#!cpp catch` block, or use `allow_exceptions=false`/`accept()` if your environment
@@ -145,6 +156,8 @@ conforming JSON consumers is exactly what the default rejects.
`JSON_STRICT_NUL_HANDLING`.
- Decide whether duplicate object keys should be an error for your application, and add a callback if so.
- Do not enable `ignore_comments` or `ignore_trailing_commas` for input that must be strictly conforming JSON.
- Check the array indices of untrusted JSON Pointers and flattened keys before passing them to the non-const
`operator[]` or `unflatten()`, which fill arrays with `#!json null` values up to the index.
For the broader design rationale and how it is tested (fuzzing, sanitizers, static analysis), see the
[assurance case](../../community/assurance_case.md) and [quality assurance](../../community/quality_assurance.md). To