D676 - Unanswered weak imports bind to zero

Status: decided Date: 2026-09-10

An import marked STB_WEAK that no loaded module, the title or the platform implementations answer binds to address zero, plus the addend for an absolute relocation, and does not block entry. A strong import nothing answers still gets a callable stub, and the loader follows the binding the binary declares.

Why: the ELF gABI resolves an unsatisfied weak reference to zero and lets the link succeed, and C feature detection tests exactly that address against null. A stub makes every such test read present and enters paths the platform does not provide; refusing entry fails a link the platform's own linker accepts.

Rejected:

• A callable stub for every unresolved import: every weak feature check reads present.
• Refusing to enter the image: stricter than the platform's linker.
• Inferring weak binding a packager erased: the binary's metadata is what the loader has.