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Weakness (CWE)

CWE-590: Free of Memory not on the Heap

Variant Incomplete

The product calls free() on a pointer to memory that was not allocated using associated heap allocation functions such as malloc(), calloc(), or realloc().

How to prevent it (4 mitigations)

  1. Implementation

    Only free pointers that you have called malloc on previously. This is the recommended solution. Keep track of which pointers point at the beginning of valid chunks and free them only once.

  2. Implementation

    Before freeing a pointer, the programmer should make sure that the pointer was previously allocated on the heap and that the memory belongs to the programmer. Freeing an unallocated pointer will cause undefined behavior in the program.

  3. Architecture and Design

    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.

  4. Architecture and Design

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

Source: MITRE CWE-590

All Critical High Medium Low Exploited only Public exploit

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