COMMON WEAKNESS ENUMERATIONIncomplete

CWE-763

Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference

The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls the wrong release function or calls the appropriate release function incorrectly.

Abstraction

Base

Structure

Simple

Likelihood of Exploit

Medium

Understand the problem

What is the problem?

The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls the wrong release function or calls the appropriate release function incorrectly.

Extended description

This weakness can take several forms, such as: - The memory was allocated, explicitly or implicitly, via one memory management method and deallocated using a different, non-compatible function (CWE-762). - The function calls or memory management routines chosen are appropriate, however they are used incorrectly, such as in CWE-761.

Root cause

How and when does the problem arise?

Lifecycle phase

Implementation

Risk

What does successful exploitation lead to?

Modify MemoryDoS: Crash, Exit, or RestartExecute Unauthorized Code or Commands

Affected security scopes: Integrity, Availability, Confidentiality

This weakness may result in the corruption of memory, and perhaps instructions, possibly leading to a crash. If the corrupted memory can be effectively controlled, it may be possible to execute arbitrary code.

Defence

How is it prevented and fixed?

Implementation

Implementation-phase defence

Detail
Only call matching memory management functions. Do not mix and match routines. For example, when you allocate a buffer with malloc(), dispose of the original pointer with free().

Implementation

Implementation-phase defence

Detail
When programming in C++, consider using smart pointers provided by the boost library to help correctly and consistently manage memory.

Architecture and Design

Libraries or Frameworks

Detail
Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers.

Architecture and Design

Architecture and design approach

Detail
Use a language that provides abstractions for memory allocation and deallocation.

Verification

How is it detected?

Fuzzing

High
Fuzz testing (fuzzing) is a powerful technique for generating large numbers of diverse inputs - either randomly or algorithmically - and dynamically invoking the code with those inputs. Even with random inputs, it is often capable of generating unexpected results such as crashes, memory corruption, or resource consumption. Fuzzing effectively produces repeatable test cases that clearly indicate bugs, which helps developers to diagnose the issues.

Automated Dynamic Analysis

Moderate
Use tools that are integrated during compilation to insert runtime error-checking mechanisms related to memory safety errors, such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) for C/C++ [REF-1518] or valgrind [REF-480].

Crafted inputs are necessary to reach the code containing the error, such as generated by fuzzers. Also, these tools may reduce performance, and they only report the error condition - not the original mistake that led to the error.

CWE-763: Common Weakness Enumeration Entry CWE-763 · DayBreach Sözlük · DayBreach