Using File.createTempFile as the first step in creating a temporary directory causes a race condition and is inherently unreliable and insecure. Instead, Files.createTempDirectory (Java 7+) or a library function such as Guava's similarly-named Files.createTempDir should be used.

This rule raises an issue when the following steps are taken in immediate sequence:

• call to File.createTempFile
• delete resulting file
• call mkdir on the File object

Note that this rule is automatically disabled when the project's sonar.java.source is lower than 7.

Noncompliant Code Example

File tempDir;
tempDir = File.createTempFile("", ".");
tempDir.delete();
tempDir.mkdir();  // Noncompliant

Compliant Solution

Path tempPath = Files.createTempDirectory("");
File tempDir = tempPath.toFile();

See

• OWAPS Top Ten 2013 Category A9 - Using Components with Known Vulnerabilities