CWE-468

Incorrect Pointer Scaling
AI Translation Available

In C and C++, one may often accidentally refer to the wrong memory due to the semantics of when math operations are implicitly scaled.

Status
incomplete
Abstraction
base
Likelihood
medium
C C++

Common Consequences

confidentiality integrity
Impacts
read memory modify memory

Detection Methods

automated static analysis

Potential Mitigations

Phases:
architecture and design implementation
Descriptions:
• Use a platform with high-level memory abstractions.
• Use technologies for preventing buffer overflows.
• Always use array indexing instead of direct pointer manipulation.