CWE-822 - Untrusted Pointer Dereference
CWE-822
- Abstraction:
- Base
- Structure:
- Simple
- Status:
- Incomplete
- Weakness Name
Untrusted Pointer Dereference
- Description
The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer.
An attacker can supply a pointer for memory locations that the product is not expecting. If the pointer is dereferenced for a write operation, the attack might allow modification of critical state variables, cause a crash, or execute code. If the dereferencing operation is for a read, then the attack might allow reading of sensitive data, cause a crash, or set a variable to an unexpected value (since the value will be read from an unexpected memory location). There are several variants of this weakness, including but not necessarily limited to:
- Common Consequences
Scope: Confidentiality
Impact: Read Memory
Notes: If the untrusted pointer is used in a read operation, an attacker might be able to read sensitive portions of memory.
Scope: Availability
Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Notes: If the untrusted pointer references a memory location that is not accessible to the product, or points to a location that is "malformed" or larger than expected by a read or write operation, the application may terminate unexpectedly.
Scope: Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability
Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, Modify Memory
Notes: If the untrusted pointer is used in a function call, or points to unexpected data in a write operation, then code execution may be possible.
- Related Weaknesses
- Release Date:
- 2010-09-27
- Latest Modification Date:
- 2023-06-29
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