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C/C++ on Windows packaging

Your C/C++ applications must meet specific compilation requirements before you can submit them for scanning.

See Supported languages and platforms for instructions for other platforms.

Automated packaging​

Auto-packaging automates the packaging process for C/C++ Windows projects.

Required files​

Veracode requires all binary executables, all required libraries, and the complete debug information for the application.

Supported C/C++ on Windows platforms and compiler versions​

LanguagePlatformVersionCompiler
C/C++ (32-bit/64-bit)WindowsWindows Desktop Environments:
  • Windows XP
  • Windows 7
  • Windows 10
Windows Server Environments:
  • Windows Server 2003
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2019
  • Visual C++ 7.0 for Visual Studio .NET 2002
  • Visual C++ 7.1 for Visual Studio .NET 2003
  • Visual C++ 8.0 for Visual Studio 2005
  • Visual C++ 9.0 for Visual Studio 2008
  • Visual C++ 10.0 for Visual Studio 2010
  • Visual C++ 11.0 for Visual Studio 2012
  • Visual C++ 12.0 for Visual Studio 2013
  • Visual C++ 14.0 for Visual Studio 2015
  • Visual C++ 14.1.x for Visual Studio 2017
  • Visual C++ 14.2.x for Visual Studio 2019
  • Visual C++ 14.30-14.4x for Visual Studio 2022

Supported architectures​

Veracode supports analyzing Windows C/C++ code compiled for the Intel IA32 and X86_64 architectures. Veracode does not currently support analyzing Windows C/C++ code compiled for Itanium (IA64), Alpha, MIPS, PowerPC, ARM, or other microarchitectures.

Platform-specific debug settings​

You can automate these compilation settings by using the Veracode Visual Studio Extension.

Ensure that you compile the binary files with these settings:

  • Project Properties > Configuration Properties > C/C++ > General

    Set Debug Information Format to Program Database using the /Zi option.

  • Project Properties > Configuration Properties > C/C++ > Optimization

    When possible, set Optimization to Disabled using the/Od option.

  • Project Properties > Configuration Properties > C/C++ > Code Generation

    • Set Basic Runtime Checks to Default. On the command line, ensure that /RTC is not set.
    • Set Runtime Library to Multi-threaded Debug or Multi-threaded Debug DLL using the /MTd, /MDd, or /LDd options.
    • Set Buffer Security Check to No using the /GS- option.

  • Project Properties > Configuration Properties > Linker > General

    Set Enable Incremental Linking to No using the /INCREMENTAL:NO options.

  • Project Properties > Configuration Properties > Linker > Debugging

    Choose Generate Debug Information optimized for sharing and publishing using the /DEBUG:FULL option.

  • Retain the generated PDB file. It is a required dependency.

Building and linking applications using the command line​

If you are building a Visual C++ application from the command line, Veracode requires that the /Zi, /Od and /GS- flags are set, the /RTC flag is not set, and a debug run-time library is selected, if you are explicitly specifying the /M or /L option. For example, {{ /MDd, /MLd, /MTd, /LDd}} when you compile. You must set the /INCREMENTAL:NO and /DEBUG flags when linking the application.

This example shows the command-line flags required to build an application for Veracode analysis.

cl.exe /Zi /Od /GS- /MTd /link /INCREMENTAL:NO /DEBUG:FULL

Optimized code​

Although Veracode can analyze some Windows C/C++ binaries compiled with optimization, there could be some reduction of results quality. Specifically, Veracode strongly recommends these settings to analyze Windows binaries compiled with optimization:

  • MSVC7: analysis of optimized binaries built with MSVC 7 and earlier is unsupported
  • MSVC8: disable Frame Pointer Omission optimization with the /Oy- command-line flag
  • MSVC9: no specific issues

C/C++ Windows application profile​

  • You must package applications as EXE, DLL, or ZIP files.
  • Debug symbols are mandatory for main executables. Veracode strongly recommends that you also provide debug symbols for dependent libraries, when possible, to achieve higher-quality scan results.
  • Failure to upload debug symbols for Windows C/C++ applications prevents the scan from proceeding.
  • Failure to upload dependencies for Windows C/C++ applications results in a warning during prescan.
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