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Weakness (CWE)

CWE-401: Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

Variant Draft

The product does not sufficiently track and release allocated memory after it has been used, making the memory unavailable for reallocation and reuse.

How to prevent it (3 mitigations)

  1. Implementation

    Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone.

    For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers.

    When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC) [REF-391].

    To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std::auto_ptr (defined by ISO/IEC ISO/IEC 14882:2003), std::shared_ptr and std::unique_ptr (specified by an upcoming revision of the C++ standard, informally referred to as C++ 1x), or equivalent solutions such as Boost.

  2. Architecture and Design

    Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.

  3. Architecture and Design, Build and Compilation

    Consider using the Boehm-Demers-Weiser garbage collector (bdwgc), which can help avoid leaks.

Source: MITRE CWE-401

All Critical High Medium Low Exploited only Public exploit

2 results · Clear filters · Feed

  • Medium 6.3
    CVE-2026-22024 Public exploit

    CryptoLib Memory Leak in KMC Encrypt Function Leads to Resource Exhaustion

    CryptoLib provides a software-only solution using the CCSDS Space Data Link Security Protocol - Extended Procedures (SDLS-EP) to secure communications between a spacecraft running the core Flight System (cFS) and a ground station. Prior to version 1.4.3, the …

    nasa CryptoLib
  • Medium 6.1
    CVE-2022-25479 Public exploit

    Vulnerability in Realtek RtsPer driver for PCIe Card Reader (RtsPer.sys) before 10.0.22000.21355 and Realtek RtsUer dri…