https://gcc.gnu.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=64615
Jonathan Wakely <redi at gcc dot gnu.org> changed: What |Removed |Added ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Resolution|--- |INVALID Status|UNCONFIRMED |RESOLVED --- Comment #5 from Jonathan Wakely <redi at gcc dot gnu.org> --- The standard says: "If there is no user-declared constructor for class X, a non-explicit constructor having no parameters is implicitly declared as defaulted" An inherited constructor is not user-declared, so D still gets an implicitly-declared: D() = default; This is public, and can call the protected B() constructor. So G++ is correct.