CWE-823

Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset
AI Translation Available

The product performs pointer arithmetic on a valid pointer, but it uses an offset that can point outside of the intended range of valid memory locations for the resulting pointer.

Status
incomplete
Abstraction
base
C C++ Memory-Unsafe

While a pointer can contain a reference to any arbitrary memory location, a program typically only intends to use the pointer to access limited portions of memory, such as contiguous memory used to access an individual array.

Programs may use offsets in order to access fields or sub-elements stored within structured data. The offset might be out-of-range if it comes from an untrusted source, is the result of an incorrect calculation, or occurs because of another error.

If an attacker can control or influence the offset so that it points outside of the intended boundaries of the structure, then the attacker may be able to read or write to memory locations that are used elsewhere in the product. As a result, the attack might change the state of the product as accessed through program variables, cause a crash or instable behavior, and possibly lead to code execution.

Common Consequences

confidentiality availability integrity
Impacts
read memory dos: crash, exit, or restart execute unauthorized code or commands modify memory

Detection Methods

automated static analysis automated dynamic analysis

Potential Mitigations

Functional Areas

memory management