CWE-825 - Expired Pointer Dereference
- Abstraction:Base
- Structure:Simple
- Status:Incomplete
- Release Date:2010-09-27
- Latest Modification Date:2023-06-29
Weakness Name
Expired Pointer Dereference
Description
The product dereferences a pointer that contains a location for memory that was previously valid, but is no longer valid.
When a product releases memory, but it maintains a pointer to that memory, then the memory might be re-allocated at a later time. If the original pointer is accessed to read or write data, then this could cause the product to read or modify data that is in use by a different function or process. Depending on how the newly-allocated memory is used, this could lead to a denial of service, information exposure, or code execution.
Common Consequences
Scope: Confidentiality
Impact: Read Memory
Notes: If the expired pointer is used in a read operation, an attacker might be able to control data read in by the application.
Scope: Availability
Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Notes: If the expired pointer references a memory location that is not accessible to the product, or points to a location that is "malformed" (such as NULL) or larger than expected by a read or write operation, then a crash may occur.
Scope: Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability
Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
Notes: If the expired pointer is used in a function call, or points to unexpected data in a write operation, then code execution may be possible.
