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Fix: Report unboxing.of.nullable in conditional expressions with primitive result #7433

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Fix: Report unboxing.of.nullable in conditional expressions with primitive result #7433

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0994c6a
ternary false negative fix
Suvrat1629 Jan 3, 2026
f60011f
change
Suvrat1629 Jan 4, 2026
164f5e6
Merge ../checker-framework-branch-master into false-neg-6849
mernst Mar 3, 2026
9ff5e03
Merge ../checker-framework-branch-master into false-neg-6849
mernst Mar 3, 2026
382b23b
Merge ../checker-framework-branch-master into false-neg-6849
mernst Mar 4, 2026
8ba7018
Put error message key in brackets
mernst Mar 4, 2026
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27 changes: 27 additions & 0 deletions checker/src/main/java/org/checkerframework/checker/nullness/NullnessVisitor.java
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -777,6 +777,33 @@ public Void visitDoWhileLoop(DoWhileLoopTree tree, Void p) {
@Override
public Void visitConditionalExpression(ConditionalExpressionTree tree, Void p) {
checkForNullability(tree.getCondition(), CONDITION_NULLABLE);
// If the overall conditional expression has a primitive Java type but one or both
// operand expressions are reference types, then unboxing will occur as part of
// evaluating the conditional. In that case, check the operand(s) for possible
// nullness (unboxing.of.nullable).
AnnotatedTypeMirror type = atypeFactory.getAnnotatedType(tree);
// Only check for unboxing when javac has chosen a primitive underlying type
// for the conditional expression, but one or both operands are non-primitive.
if (type.getKind().isPrimitive()) {
ExpressionTree trueExpr = tree.getTrueExpression();
ExpressionTree falseExpr = tree.getFalseExpression();
boolean trueNeedsUnboxing = !TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(trueExpr));
boolean falseNeedsUnboxing = !TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(falseExpr));

if (trueNeedsUnboxing) {
if (!checkForNullability(trueExpr, UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE)) {
// If we reported an unboxing.of.nullable error for the true arm, stop
// further checking to avoid cascading errors.
return null;
}
}
if (falseNeedsUnboxing) {
if (!checkForNullability(falseExpr, UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE)) {
return null;
}
}
}
Comment on lines +780 to +805
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@coderabbitai coderabbitai bot Mar 3, 2026

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🧹 Nitpick | 🔵 Trivial

Logic is correct; consider using the existing helper method for consistency.

The fix correctly identifies when javac implicitly unboxes a reference-typed operand in a conditional expression with a primitive result type and reports unboxing.of.nullable when appropriate. The early return pattern is consistent with visitTypeCast (lines 509-513).

Minor suggestion: The existing isPrimitive(ExpressionTree) helper method (lines 714-716) could be reused for slightly more readable and consistent code.

♻️ Suggested refactor to use existing helper 
     if (type.getKind().isPrimitive()) {
       ExpressionTree trueExpr = tree.getTrueExpression();
       ExpressionTree falseExpr = tree.getFalseExpression();
-      boolean trueNeedsUnboxing = !TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(trueExpr));
-      boolean falseNeedsUnboxing = !TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(falseExpr));
+      boolean trueNeedsUnboxing = !isPrimitive(trueExpr);
+      boolean falseNeedsUnboxing = !isPrimitive(falseExpr);
 
       if (trueNeedsUnboxing) {
📝 Committable suggestion

‼️ IMPORTANT
Carefully review the code before committing. Ensure that it accurately replaces the highlighted code, contains no missing lines, and has no issues with indentation. Thoroughly test & benchmark the code to ensure it meets the requirements.

Suggested change
// If the overall conditional expression has a primitive Java type but one or both
// operand expressions are reference types, then unboxing will occur as part of
// evaluating the conditional. In that case, check the operand(s) for possible
// nullness (unboxing.of.nullable).
AnnotatedTypeMirror type = atypeFactory.getAnnotatedType(tree);
// Only check for unboxing when javac has chosen a primitive underlying type
// for the conditional expression, but one or both operands are non-primitive.
if (type.getKind().isPrimitive()) {
ExpressionTree trueExpr = tree.getTrueExpression();
ExpressionTree falseExpr = tree.getFalseExpression();
boolean trueNeedsUnboxing = !TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(trueExpr));
boolean falseNeedsUnboxing = !TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(falseExpr));
if (trueNeedsUnboxing) {
if (!checkForNullability(trueExpr, UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE)) {
// If we reported an unboxing.of.nullable error for the true arm, stop
// further checking to avoid cascading errors.
return null;
}
}
if (falseNeedsUnboxing) {
if (!checkForNullability(falseExpr, UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE)) {
return null;
}
}
}
// If the overall conditional expression has a primitive Java type but one or both
// operand expressions are reference types, then unboxing will occur as part of
// evaluating the conditional. In that case, check the operand(s) for possible
// nullness (unboxing.of.nullable).
AnnotatedTypeMirror type = atypeFactory.getAnnotatedType(tree);
// Only check for unboxing when javac has chosen a primitive underlying type
// for the conditional expression, but one or both operands are non-primitive.
if (type.getKind().isPrimitive()) {
ExpressionTree trueExpr = tree.getTrueExpression();
ExpressionTree falseExpr = tree.getFalseExpression();
boolean trueNeedsUnboxing = !isPrimitive(trueExpr);
boolean falseNeedsUnboxing = !isPrimitive(falseExpr);
if (trueNeedsUnboxing) {
if (!checkForNullability(trueExpr, UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE)) {
// If we reported an unboxing.of.nullable error for the true arm, stop
// further checking to avoid cascading errors.
return null;
}
}
if (falseNeedsUnboxing) {
if (!checkForNullability(falseExpr, UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE)) {
return null;
}
}
}
🤖 Prompt for AI Agents 
Verify each finding against the current code and only fix it if needed.

In
`@checker/src/main/java/org/checkerframework/checker/nullness/NullnessVisitor.java`
around lines 780 - 805, Replace the explicit primitive checks that call
TypesUtils.isPrimitive(TreeUtils.typeOf(...)) with the class's existing helper
isPrimitive(ExpressionTree) for consistency and readability inside
NullnessVisitor (the conditional-expression handling that computes
trueNeedsUnboxing/falseNeedsUnboxing); keep the rest of the logic intact (still
call checkForNullability on trueExpr/falseExpr with UNBOXING_OF_NULLABLE and
preserve the early-return behavior when checkForNullability returns false) so
only the primitive-test expressions are swapped to use
isPrimitive(ExpressionTree).


return super.visitConditionalExpression(tree, p);
}

Expand Down
16 changes: 16 additions & 0 deletions checker/tests/nullness/Issue6849.java
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
import java.util.*;
import org.checkerframework.checker.nullness.qual.*;

public class Issue6849 {

public static <T> T m(List<T> lst) {
return lst.get(0);
}

public static void main(String[] args) {
List<@Nullable Integer> lst = new LinkedList<>();
lst.add(null);
// :: error: (unboxing.of.nullable)
int y = ((true) ? Issue6849.<@Nullable Integer>m(lst) : 10);
}
}
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