Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-787

Weakness Allowed-with-Review

Out-of-bounds Write

Abstraction: Base · Status: Draft

The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Dimensions

  • Behavior-Type: Write
  • Resource-Type: Memory Buffer
  • Resource-Property: Out-of-bounds
Mapping guidance

This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities. However, closer examination is required.

While this CWE is allowed for mapping, it has more specific children that might be a better fit. Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is appropriate. Consider the root cause errors that have led to the out-of-bounds write by examining "CanFollow" relationships for this entry.

Relationships and members
ChildOf: CWE-119 · View CWE-1000
ChildOf: CWE-119 · View CWE-1003
ChildOf: CWE-119 · View CWE-1305
ChildOf: CWE-119 · View CWE-1340
Modes of introduction
Implementation
Detection methods

Automated Static Analysis

This weakness can often be detected using automated static analysis tools. Many modern tools use data flow analysis or constraint-based techniques to minimize the number of false positives.

Automated static analysis generally does not account for environmental considerations when reporting out-of-bounds memory operations. This can make it difficult for users to determine which warnings should be investigated first. For example, an analysis tool might report buffer overflows that originate from command line arguments in a program that is not expected to run with setuid or other special privileges.

Effectiveness: High

Detection techniques for buffer-related errors are more mature than for most other weakness types.

Automated Dynamic Analysis

This weakness can be detected using dynamic tools and techniques that interact with the software using large test suites with many diverse inputs, such as fuzz testing (fuzzing), robustness testing, and fault injection. The software's operation may slow down, but it should not become unstable, crash, or generate incorrect results.

Automated Dynamic Analysis

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].

Effectiveness: Moderate

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.

Content history
Submission: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2009-10-21 · CWE 1.6
Contribution: "Mapping CWE to 62443" Sub-Working Group · CWE-CAPEC ICS/OT SIG · 2023-04-25 · CWE 4.11

Suggested mappings to ISA/IEC 62443.

Contribution: Abhi Balakrishnan · 2024-02-29 · CWE 4.15

Provided diagram to improve CWE usability

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2010-02-16 · CWE 1.8

updated Demonstrative_Examples

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2010-09-27 · CWE 1.10

updated Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2011-06-01 · CWE 1.13

updated Common_Consequences

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2014-06-23 · CWE 2.7

updated Demonstrative_Examples

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2015-12-07 · CWE 2.9

updated Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2018-03-27 · CWE 3.1

updated Description

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2019-09-19 · CWE 3.4

updated Applicable_Platforms, Demonstrative_Examples, Detection_Factors, Likelihood_of_Exploit, Observed_Examples, Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships, Time_of_Introduction

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2020-02-24 · CWE 4.0

updated Observed_Examples, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2020-06-25 · CWE 4.1

updated Observed_Examples

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2020-08-20 · CWE 4.2

updated Alternate_Terms, Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2020-12-10 · CWE 4.3

updated Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2021-03-15 · CWE 4.4

updated Demonstrative_Examples

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2021-07-20 · CWE 4.5

updated Demonstrative_Examples, Potential_Mitigations, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2022-06-28 · CWE 4.8

updated Observed_Examples, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2022-10-13 · CWE 4.9

updated Applicable_Platforms

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2023-01-31 · CWE 4.10

updated Alternate_Terms, Demonstrative_Examples, Description

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2023-04-27 · CWE 4.11

updated Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2023-06-29 · CWE 4.12

updated Mapping_Notes, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2024-02-29 · CWE 4.14

updated Demonstrative_Examples

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2024-07-16 · CWE 4.15

updated Alternate_Terms, Common_Consequences, Description, Diagram, Weakness_Ordinalities

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2024-11-19 · CWE 4.16

updated Observed_Examples, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2025-04-03 · CWE 4.17

updated Observed_Examples, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2025-09-09 · CWE 4.18

updated Affected_Resources, Functional_Areas, References

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2025-12-11 · CWE 4.19

updated Applicable_Platforms, Detection_Factors, References, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2026-04-30 · CWE 4.20

updated Mapping_Notes

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2026-10-28 · CWE 5.0

updated Dimensions, Observed_Examples, References, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

16871 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.

GHSA-J9Q7-P3Q3-F2XH

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:14 – Updated: 2022-05-13 01:14
VLAI
Details

The Alcatel Lucent I-240W-Q GPON ONT using firmware version 3FE54567BOZJ19 is vulnerable to a stack buffer overflow via crafted HTTP POST request sent by a remote, unauthenticated attacker to /GponForm/fsetup_Form. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to potentially execute arbitrary code.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2019-3922"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2019-03-05T21:29:00Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "The Alcatel Lucent I-240W-Q GPON ONT using firmware version 3FE54567BOZJ19 is vulnerable to a stack buffer overflow via crafted HTTP POST request sent by a remote, unauthenticated attacker to /GponForm/fsetup_Form. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to potentially execute arbitrary code.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9q7-p3q3-f2xh",
  "modified": "2022-05-13T01:14:29Z",
  "published": "2022-05-13T01:14:29Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-3922"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.tenable.com/security/research/tra-2019-09"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9R5-CG9X-96C5

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-08-22 21:30 – Updated: 2023-08-26 03:30
VLAI
Details

A stack overflow vulnerability exists in function econf_writeFile in file atlibeconf/lib/libeconf.c in libeconf 0.5.1 allows attackers to cause a Denial of service or execute arbitrary code.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2023-30078"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2023-08-22T19:16:36Z",
    "severity": null
  },
  "details": "A stack overflow vulnerability exists in function econf_writeFile in file atlibeconf/lib/libeconf.c in libeconf 0.5.1 allows attackers to cause a Denial of service or execute arbitrary code.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9r5-cg9x-96c5",
  "modified": "2023-08-26T03:30:32Z",
  "published": "2023-08-22T21:30:27Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-30078"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/openSUSE/libeconf/issues/178"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/yangjiageng/PoC/blob/master/libeconf-PoC/econf_writeFile_546"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/yangjiageng/PoC/master/libeconf-PoC/tst-write-string-data.c"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9V7-592W-MMCH

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 16:45 – Updated: 2024-04-04 00:40
VLAI
Details

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) when ndis.sys fails to check the length of a buffer prior to copying memory to it.To exploit the vulnerability, in a local attack scenario, an attacker could run a specially crafted application to elevate the attacker's privilege level, aka 'Windows NDIS Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability'.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2019-0707"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2019-05-16T19:29:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS) when ndis.sys fails to check the length of a buffer prior to copying memory to it.To exploit the vulnerability, in a local attack scenario, an attacker could run a specially crafted application to elevate the attacker\u0027s privilege level, aka \u0027Windows NDIS Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability\u0027.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9v7-592w-mmch",
  "modified": "2024-04-04T00:40:26Z",
  "published": "2022-05-24T16:45:48Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-0707"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2019-0707"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9VV-8FG3-243J

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-09-25 18:30 – Updated: 2025-11-04 21:30
VLAI
Details

An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the allocate_buffer_for_jpeg_decoding functionality of Accusoft ImageGear 20.1. A specially crafted malformed file can lead to memory corruption. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2023-40163"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2023-09-25T16:15:14Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "An out-of-bounds write vulnerability exists in the allocate_buffer_for_jpeg_decoding functionality of Accusoft ImageGear 20.1. A specially crafted malformed file can lead to memory corruption. An attacker can provide a malicious file to trigger this vulnerability.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9vv-8fg3-243j",
  "modified": "2025-11-04T21:30:39Z",
  "published": "2023-09-25T18:30:50Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-40163"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1836"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2023-1836"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9WM-C67X-V933

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2024-04-27 12:30 – Updated: 2024-04-27 12:30
VLAI
Details

A vulnerability was found in Tenda i21 1.0.0.14(4656) and classified as critical. This issue affects the function formQosManage_user. The manipulation of the argument ssidIndex leads to stack-based buffer overflow. The attack may be initiated remotely. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-262139. NOTE: The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2024-4248"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-121",
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2024-04-27T11:15:06Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "A vulnerability was found in Tenda i21 1.0.0.14(4656) and classified as critical. This issue affects the function formQosManage_user. The manipulation of the argument ssidIndex leads to stack-based buffer overflow. The attack may be initiated remotely. The associated identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-262139. NOTE: The vendor was contacted early about this disclosure but did not respond in any way.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9wm-c67x-v933",
  "modified": "2024-04-27T12:30:29Z",
  "published": "2024-04-27T12:30:29Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-4248"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/abcdefg-png/IoT-vulnerable/blob/main/Tenda/i/i21/formQosManage_user.md"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.262139"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?id.262139"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?submit.319833"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9X9-9H4C-F6V6

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:11 – Updated: 2025-04-20 03:49
VLAI
Details

In OpenJPEG 2.3.0, a stack-based buffer overflow was discovered in the pgxtovolume function in jp3d/convert.c. The vulnerability causes an out-of-bounds write, which may lead to remote denial of service or possibly remote code execution.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2017-17480"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2017-12-08T19:29:00Z",
    "severity": "CRITICAL"
  },
  "details": "In OpenJPEG 2.3.0, a stack-based buffer overflow was discovered in the pgxtovolume function in jp3d/convert.c. The vulnerability causes an out-of-bounds write, which may lead to remote denial of service or possibly remote code execution.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9x9-9h4c-f6v6",
  "modified": "2025-04-20T03:49:36Z",
  "published": "2022-05-13T01:11:47Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-17480"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/uclouvain/openjpeg/issues/1044"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2018/11/msg00018.html"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://usn.ubuntu.com/4109-1"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2019/dsa-4405"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9XP-4524-R98C

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:38 – Updated: 2022-05-24 17:38
VLAI
Details

A vulnerability has been identified in Solid Edge (All Versions < SE2021MP2). Affected applications lack proper validation of user-supplied data when parsing DFT files. This could result in an out of bounds write past the end of an allocated structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2020-28386"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2021-01-12T21:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "A vulnerability has been identified in Solid Edge (All Versions \u003c SE2021MP2). Affected applications lack proper validation of user-supplied data when parsing DFT files. This could result in an out of bounds write past the end of an allocated structure. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9xp-4524-r98c",
  "modified": "2022-05-24T17:38:35Z",
  "published": "2022-05-24T17:38:35Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28386"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://cert-portal.siemens.com/productcert/pdf/ssa-979834.pdf"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://us-cert.cisa.gov/ics/advisories/icsa-21-012-04"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-060"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-21-077"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": []
}

GHSA-J9XQ-F5HM-3M48

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-08-13 00:00 – Updated: 2022-08-17 00:00
VLAI
Details

A stack overflow vulnerability exists in /goform/wifiSSIDget in Tenda W6 V1.0.0.9(4122) version, which can be exploited by attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) via the index parameter.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2022-35557"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2022-08-12T15:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "A stack overflow vulnerability exists in /goform/wifiSSIDget in Tenda W6 V1.0.0.9(4122) version, which can be exploited by attackers to cause a denial of service (DoS) via the index parameter.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9xq-f5hm-3m48",
  "modified": "2022-08-17T00:00:30Z",
  "published": "2022-08-13T00:00:45Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-35557"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/ilovekeer/IOT/tree/main/Tenda/W6/stackoverflow/wifiSSIDget"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-J9XX-J843-G4HH

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-17 02:34 – Updated: 2022-05-17 02:34
VLAI
Details

In a camera driver function in all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a bounds check is missing when writing into an array potentially leading to an out-of-bounds heap write.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2017-8233"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2017-06-13T20:29:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "In a camera driver function in all Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, a bounds check is missing when writing into an array potentially leading to an out-of-bounds heap write.",
  "id": "GHSA-j9xx-j843-g4hh",
  "modified": "2022-05-17T02:34:07Z",
  "published": "2022-05-17T02:34:07Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-8233"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2017-06-01"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1038623"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-JC26-GC36-W5RF

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-06-28 15:30 – Updated: 2024-04-04 05:14
VLAI
Details

A stack overflow in the UpdateMacClone function of H3C Magic B1STV100R012 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via a crafted POST request.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2023-34936"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-787"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2023-06-28T15:15:10Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "A stack overflow in the UpdateMacClone function of H3C Magic B1STV100R012 allows attackers to cause a Denial of Service (DoS) via a crafted POST request.",
  "id": "GHSA-jc26-gc36-w5rf",
  "modified": "2024-04-04T05:14:21Z",
  "published": "2023-06-28T15:30:23Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-34936"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/h4kuy4/vuln/blob/main/H3C_B1STW/CVE-2023-34936.md"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

Mitigation MIT-3
Requirements

Strategy: Language Selection

  • Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • For example, many languages that perform their own memory management, such as Java and Perl, are not subject to buffer overflows. Other languages, such as Ada and C#, typically provide overflow protection, but the protection can be disabled by the programmer.
  • Be wary that a language's interface to native code may still be subject to overflows, even if the language itself is theoretically safe.
Mitigation MIT-4.1
Architecture and Design

Strategy: Libraries or Frameworks

  • Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
  • Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Messier and Viega [REF-57], and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft [REF-56]. These libraries provide safer versions of overflow-prone string-handling functions.
Mitigation MIT-10
Operation Build and Compilation

Strategy: Environment Hardening

  • Use automatic buffer overflow detection mechanisms that are offered by certain compilers or compiler extensions. Examples include: the Microsoft Visual Studio /GS flag, Fedora/Red Hat FORTIFY_SOURCE GCC flag, StackGuard, and ProPolice, which provide various mechanisms including canary-based detection and range/index checking.
  • D3-SFCV (Stack Frame Canary Validation) from D3FEND [REF-1334] discusses canary-based detection in detail.
Mitigation MIT-9
Implementation
  • Consider adhering to the following rules when allocating and managing an application's memory:
  • Double check that the buffer is as large as specified.
  • When using functions that accept a number of bytes to copy, such as strncpy(), be aware that if the destination buffer size is equal to the source buffer size, it may not NULL-terminate the string.
  • Check buffer boundaries if accessing the buffer in a loop and make sure there is no danger of writing past the allocated space.
  • If necessary, truncate all input strings to a reasonable length before passing them to the copy and concatenation functions.
Mitigation MIT-11
Operation Build and Compilation

Strategy: Environment Hardening

  • Run or compile the software using features or extensions that randomly arrange the positions of a program's executable and libraries in memory. Because this makes the addresses unpredictable, it can prevent an attacker from reliably jumping to exploitable code.
  • Examples include Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) [REF-58] [REF-60] and Position-Independent Executables (PIE) [REF-64]. Imported modules may be similarly realigned if their default memory addresses conflict with other modules, in a process known as "rebasing" (for Windows) and "prelinking" (for Linux) [REF-1332] using randomly generated addresses. ASLR for libraries cannot be used in conjunction with prelink since it would require relocating the libraries at run-time, defeating the whole purpose of prelinking.
  • For more information on these techniques see D3-SAOR (Segment Address Offset Randomization) from D3FEND [REF-1335].
Mitigation MIT-12
Operation

Strategy: Environment Hardening

  • Use a CPU and operating system that offers Data Execution Protection (using hardware NX or XD bits) or the equivalent techniques that simulate this feature in software, such as PaX [REF-60] [REF-61]. These techniques ensure that any instruction executed is exclusively at a memory address that is part of the code segment.
  • For more information on these techniques see D3-PSEP (Process Segment Execution Prevention) from D3FEND [REF-1336].
Mitigation MIT-13
Implementation

Replace unbounded copy functions with analogous functions that support length arguments, such as strcpy with strncpy. Create these if they are not available.

No CAPEC attack patterns related to this CWE.