Category: Pointer Issues
Draft
Summary
Weaknesses in this category are related to improper handling of pointers.
Membership
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-466 | Return of Pointer Value Outside of Expected Range | A function can return a pointer to memory that is outside of the buffer that the pointer is expected to reference. |
| CWE-468 | Incorrect Pointer Scaling | In C and C++, one may often accidentally refer to the wrong memory due to the semantics of when math operations are implicitly scaled. |
| CWE-469 | Use of Pointer Subtraction to Determine Size | The product subtracts one pointer from another in order to determine size, but this calculation can be incorrect if the pointers do not exist in the same memory chunk. |
| CWE-476 | NULL Pointer Dereference | The product dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid but is NULL. |
| CWE-587 | Assignment of a Fixed Address to a Pointer | The product sets a pointer to a specific address other than NULL or 0. |
| CWE-763 | Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference | The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls the wrong release function or calls the appropriate release function incorrectly. |
| CWE-822 | Untrusted Pointer Dereference | The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer. |
| CWE-823 | Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset | 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. |
| CWE-824 | Access of Uninitialized Pointer | The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized. |
| CWE-825 | Expired Pointer Dereference | The product dereferences a pointer that contains a location for memory that was previously valid, but is no longer valid. |
| CWE-699 | Software Development | This view organizes weaknesses around concepts that are frequently used or encountered in software development. This includes all aspects of the software development lifecycle including both architecture and implementation. Accordingly, this view can align closely with the perspectives of architects, developers, educators, and assessment vendors. It provides a variety of categories that are intended to simplify navigation, browsing, and mapping. |
Vulnerability Mapping Notes
Usage: Prohibited
Reasons: Category
Rationale:
This entry is a Category. Using categories for mapping has been discouraged since 2019. Categories are informal organizational groupings of weaknesses that can help CWE users with data aggregation, navigation, and browsing. However, they are not weaknesses in themselves.
Comment:
See member weaknesses of this category.