CWE-590: Free of Memory not on the Heap
Learn about CWE-590 (Free of Memory not on the Heap), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Free of Memory not on the Heap?
• Overview:
- CWE-590 occurs when a program attempts to free memory that was not allocated on the heap using functions like malloc(), calloc(), or realloc().
- This typically happens if the program tries to free memory from the stack or memory from static data segments.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers may exploit this vulnerability to corrupt memory management data structures.
- Common attack patterns include triggering a crash or altering program flow to execute arbitrary code.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include program crashes and potential arbitrary code execution.
- Memory corruption can lead to unpredictable behavior and security breaches.
- Business impact includes system downtime, data breaches, and loss of customer trust.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Ensure that only heap-allocated memory is passed to free() or similar deallocation functions.
- Implement comprehensive testing to detect improper memory deallocation.
- Use modern memory management tools and frameworks that help track memory allocation and deallocation, such as smart pointers in C++ or garbage collectors in managed languages.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified