Fix self-aliasing in json_pointer::operator/= and patch_inplace

json_pointer::operator/=(const json_pointer&) passed iterators into its
own token vector to insert() when a pointer was appended to itself
(p /= p), which is undefined behavior; libstdc++ produced "/a/b//" for
"/a/b". The pointer now appends a copy in that case.

basic_json::patch_inplace iterated the patch while changing *this, so
j.patch_inplace(j) read freed memory. It now applies a copy of the
patch when the patch is the value itself. A patch stored inside the
value remains undefined behavior and is documented as such; copying the
patch unconditionally would double the time of a large patch.

Signed-off-by: Niels Lohmann <mail@nlohmann.me>
This commit is contained in:
Niels Lohmann committed 2026-10-26 12:10:55 +01:00
1 parent 2a56afc714
commit 0babaa1a4e
7 files changed
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@@ -62,6 +62,16 @@ Unlike [`patch`](patch.md), `patch_inplace` applies the operation "in place" and
That makes it faster for large documents by avoiding the copy. However, the JSON value might be corrupted if the
function throws an exception.
The JSON patch may be the JSON value itself (`#!cpp j.patch_inplace(j)`): the operations are then read from a copy of
the patch made before the first operation is applied, so the result is the same as that of
`#!cpp j = j.patch(j)`, and the exception safety is the same as above.
!!! danger "Undefined behavior"
The JSON patch must not be a value stored inside the JSON value (e.g., `#!cpp j.patch_inplace(j["patch"])`), as the
operations may change or destroy it while it is read. Pass a copy (`#!cpp j.patch_inplace(json(j["patch"]))`) or use
[`patch`](patch.md) instead.
## Examples
??? example "Example: apply a JSON patch in place"
@@ -113,3 +123,4 @@ function throws an exception.
- 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.
- Applying a JSON value as patch to itself no longer results in undefined behavior in version 3.13.0.
@@ -18,7 +18,8 @@ json_pointer& operator/=(std::size_t array_idx)
## Parameters
`ptr` (in)
: JSON pointer to append
: JSON pointer to append; may be the JSON pointer itself (`#!cpp p /= p`), which then appends a copy of its
reference tokens
`token` (in)
: reference token to append
@@ -68,6 +69,7 @@ json_pointer& operator/=(std::size_t array_idx)
## Version history
1. Added in version 3.6.0.
1. Added in version 3.6.0. Appending a JSON pointer to itself no longer results in undefined behavior in version
3.13.0.
2. Added in version 3.6.0. Changed type of `token` to `string_t` in version 3.11.0.
3. Added in version 3.6.0.