CWE-129
AllowedImproper Validation of Array Index
Abstraction: Variant · Status: Draft
The product uses untrusted input when calculating or using an array index, but the product does not validate or incorrectly validates the index to ensure the index references a valid position within the array.
744 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.
GHSA-XGMM-3VVR-6C8J
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-09-05 06:30 – Updated: 2024-03-21 18:58ZPLGFA 1.1.1 allows attackers to cause a panic (because of an integer index out of range during a ConvertToGraphicField call) via an image of zero width. NOTE: it is unclear whether there are common use cases in which this panic could have any security consequence
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Go",
"name": "simonwaldherr.de/go/zplgfa"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"last_affected": "1.1.1"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2023-36307"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2024-03-21T18:58:11Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2023-09-05T05:15:07Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "ZPLGFA 1.1.1 allows attackers to cause a panic (because of an integer index out of range during a ConvertToGraphicField call) via an image of zero width. NOTE: it is unclear whether there are common use cases in which this panic could have any security consequence",
"id": "GHSA-xgmm-3vvr-6c8j",
"modified": "2024-03-21T18:58:11Z",
"published": "2023-09-05T06:30:14Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-36307"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/SimonWaldherr/zplgfa/pull/6"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/SimonWaldherr/zplgfa/commit/c0d018ffa921cd2460b80f766b7969fbe63678fc"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/SimonWaldherr/zplgfa"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Index out of bounds leading to crash"
}
GHSA-XGMV-27H3-874R
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:43 – Updated: 2022-05-24 17:43A code execution vulnerability exists in the Nef polygon-parsing functionality of CGAL libcgal CGAL-5.1.1. An oob read vulnerability exists in Nef_2/PM_io_parser.h PM_io_parser::read_vertex() Face_of[] OOB read. An attacker can provide malicious input to trigger this vulnerability.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2020-28601"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-125",
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2021-03-04T20:15:00Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "A code execution vulnerability exists in the Nef polygon-parsing functionality of CGAL libcgal CGAL-5.1.1. An oob read vulnerability exists in Nef_2/PM_io_parser.h PM_io_parser::read_vertex() Face_of[] OOB read. An attacker can provide malicious input to trigger this vulnerability.",
"id": "GHSA-xgmv-27h3-874r",
"modified": "2022-05-24T17:43:37Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T17:43:37Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-28601"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/05/msg00002.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2022/12/msg00011.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/E4J344OKKDLPRN422OYRR46HDEN6MM6P"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/NB5SF5OJR2DSV7CC6U7FVW5VJSJO5EKV"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/202305-34"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://talosintelligence.com/vulnerability_reports/TALOS-2020-1225"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-XHH8-8JQ9-8VF6
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2024-05-21 18:31 – Updated: 2025-09-24 00:30In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
fs/jfs: Add validity check for db_maxag and db_agpref
Both db_maxag and db_agpref are used as the index of the db_agfree array, but there is currently no validity check for db_maxag and db_agpref, which can lead to errors.
The following is related bug reported by Syzbot:
UBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:639:20 index 7936 is out of range for type 'atomic_t[128]'
Add checking that the values of db_maxag and db_agpref are valid indexes for the db_agfree array.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2023-52804"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2024-05-21T16:15:18Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nfs/jfs: Add validity check for db_maxag and db_agpref\n\nBoth db_maxag and db_agpref are used as the index of the\ndb_agfree array, but there is currently no validity check for\ndb_maxag and db_agpref, which can lead to errors.\n\nThe following is related bug reported by Syzbot:\n\nUBSAN: array-index-out-of-bounds in fs/jfs/jfs_dmap.c:639:20\nindex 7936 is out of range for type \u0027atomic_t[128]\u0027\n\nAdd checking that the values of db_maxag and db_agpref are valid\nindexes for the db_agfree array.",
"id": "GHSA-xhh8-8jq9-8vf6",
"modified": "2025-09-24T00:30:40Z",
"published": "2024-05-21T18:31:21Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-52804"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/1f74d336990f37703a8eee77153463d65b67f70e"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/2323de34a3ae61a9f9b544c18583f71cea86721f"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/32bd8f1cbcf8b663e29dd1f908ba3a129541a11b"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/5013f8269887642cca784adc8db9b5f0b771533f"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/64933ab7b04881c6c18b21ff206c12278341c72e"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/a0649e2dd4a3595b5595a29d0064d047c2fae2fb"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c6c8863fb3f57700ab583d875adda04caaf2278a"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ce15b0f1a431168f07b1cc6c9f71206a2db5c809"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/dca403bb035a565bb98ecc1dda5d30f676feda40"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-XJJ8-R7CF-G6W9
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-14 03:38 – Updated: 2022-05-14 03:38In all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, in the function wma_roam_synch_event_handler, vdev_id is received from firmware and used to access an array without validation.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2017-15861"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2018-02-23T23:29:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "In all Qualcomm products with Android releases from CAF using the Linux kernel, in the function wma_roam_synch_event_handler, vdev_id is received from firmware and used to access an array without validation.",
"id": "GHSA-xjj8-r7cf-g6w9",
"modified": "2022-05-14T03:38:54Z",
"published": "2022-05-14T03:38:54Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-15861"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2018-02-01"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-XM77-6VQW-642H
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:46 – Updated: 2025-04-20 03:35An issue (known as XSA-212) was discovered in Xen, with fixes available for 4.8.x, 4.7.x, 4.6.x, 4.5.x, and 4.4.x. The earlier XSA-29 fix introduced an insufficient check on XENMEM_exchange input, allowing the caller to drive hypervisor memory accesses outside of the guest provided input/output arrays.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2017-7228"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2017-04-04T14:59:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "An issue (known as XSA-212) was discovered in Xen, with fixes available for 4.8.x, 4.7.x, 4.6.x, 4.5.x, and 4.4.x. The earlier XSA-29 fix introduced an insufficient check on XENMEM_exchange input, allowing the caller to drive hypervisor memory accesses outside of the guest provided input/output arrays.",
"id": "GHSA-xm77-6vqw-642h",
"modified": "2025-04-20T03:35:26Z",
"published": "2022-05-13T01:46:53Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-7228"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/QubesOS/qubes-secpack/blob/master/QSBs/qsb-029-2017.txt"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://googleprojectzero.blogspot.com/2017/04/pandavirtualization-exploiting-xen.html"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.exploit-db.com/exploits/41870"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/04/04/3"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.debian.org/security/2017/dsa-3847"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97375"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1038223"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://xenbits.xen.org/xsa/advisory-212.html"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-XMWV-JRRX-MJGR
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-03-16 15:30 – Updated: 2026-06-30 03:35GStreamer rtpqdm2depay Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GStreamer. Interaction with this library is required to exploit this vulnerability but attack vectors may vary depending on the implementation.
The specific flaw exists within the processing of X-QDM RTP payload elements. When parsing the packetid element, the process does not properly validate user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of an allocated array. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-28850.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-3083"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129",
"CWE-787"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-03-16T14:19:46Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "GStreamer rtpqdm2depay Out-Of-Bounds Write Remote Code Execution Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code on affected installations of GStreamer. Interaction with this library is required to exploit this vulnerability but attack vectors may vary depending on the implementation.\n\nThe specific flaw exists within the processing of X-QDM RTP payload elements. When parsing the packetid element, the process does not properly validate user-supplied data, which can result in a write past the end of an allocated array. An attacker can leverage this vulnerability to execute code in the context of the current process. Was ZDI-CAN-28850.",
"id": "GHSA-xmwv-jrrx-mjgr",
"modified": "2026-06-30T03:35:54Z",
"published": "2026-03-16T15:30:44Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-3083"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.zerodayinitiative.com/advisories/ZDI-26-166"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-3083.json"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/gstreamer/gstreamer/-/commit/d60a94dee3c0a0942c9981491bf83e0de1900fbf"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2447498"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-3083"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:9488"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:9487"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:9447"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:9446"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8876"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8874"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8862"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8857"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:8854"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:7850"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:7673"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6750"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6300"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:6259"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19180"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://access.redhat.com/errata/RHSA-2026:19024"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-XPH2-5PQ4-M7JP
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-02-14 18:30 – Updated: 2026-03-25 12:30In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:
riscv: Sanitize syscall table indexing under speculation
The syscall number is a user-controlled value used to index into the syscall table. Use array_index_nospec() to clamp this value after the bounds check to prevent speculative out-of-bounds access and subsequent data leakage via cache side channels.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2025-71203"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-02-14T17:15:54Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved:\n\nriscv: Sanitize syscall table indexing under speculation\n\nThe syscall number is a user-controlled value used to index into the\nsyscall table. Use array_index_nospec() to clamp this value after the\nbounds check to prevent speculative out-of-bounds access and subsequent\ndata leakage via cache side channels.",
"id": "GHSA-xph2-5pq4-m7jp",
"modified": "2026-03-25T12:30:19Z",
"published": "2026-02-14T18:30:15Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-71203"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/25fd7ee7bf58ac3ec7be3c9f82ceff153451946c"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/33743ec6679aa364ee19d1afbaa50593e9e6e443"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/8b44e753795107a22ba31495686e83f4aca48f36"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c45848936ebdb4fcab92f8c39510db83c16d0239"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-XR5X-5G7F-MFVM
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:21 – Updated: 2022-05-24 17:21Possible memory corruption in perfservice due to improper validation array length taken from user application. in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile in APQ8096AU, APQ8098, Kamorta, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8998, Nicobar, QCM2150, QCS605, QM215, Rennell, Saipan, SDM429, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, SXR1130, SXR2130
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2020-3676"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2020-06-22T07:15:00Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Possible memory corruption in perfservice due to improper validation array length taken from user application. in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile in APQ8096AU, APQ8098, Kamorta, MSM8917, MSM8920, MSM8937, MSM8940, MSM8953, MSM8998, Nicobar, QCM2150, QCS605, QM215, Rennell, Saipan, SDM429, SDM439, SDM450, SDM630, SDM632, SDM636, SDM660, SDM670, SDM710, SM6150, SM7150, SM8150, SM8250, SXR1130, SXR2130",
"id": "GHSA-xr5x-5g7f-mfvm",
"modified": "2022-05-24T17:21:27Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T17:21:27Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-3676"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/june-2020-bulletin"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/june-2020-security-bulletin"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
GHSA-XV3Q-5P25-85H4
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-02-12 00:00 – Updated: 2022-02-19 00:02Possible out of bound access of DCI resources due to lack of validation process and resource allocation in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice & Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2021-30325"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2022-02-11T11:15:00Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Possible out of bound access of DCI resources due to lack of validation process and resource allocation in Snapdragon Auto, Snapdragon Compute, Snapdragon Consumer IOT, Snapdragon Industrial IOT, Snapdragon Mobile, Snapdragon Voice \u0026 Music, Snapdragon Wearables, Snapdragon Wired Infrastructure and Networking",
"id": "GHSA-xv3q-5p25-85h4",
"modified": "2022-02-19T00:02:06Z",
"published": "2022-02-12T00:00:50Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-30325"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.qualcomm.com/company/product-security/bulletins/february-2022-bulletin"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
GHSA-XVC4-7G96-6592
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-17 03:15 – Updated: 2022-05-17 03:15All versions of NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contain a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgDdiEscape where a value passed from a user to the driver is used without validation as the index to an array, leading to denial of service or potential escalation of privileges.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2016-8816"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-129"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2016-12-16T21:59:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "All versions of NVIDIA Windows GPU Display Driver contain a vulnerability in the kernel mode layer (nvlddmkm.sys) handler for DxgDdiEscape where a value passed from a user to the driver is used without validation as the index to an array, leading to denial of service or potential escalation of privileges.",
"id": "GHSA-xvc4-7g96-6592",
"modified": "2022-05-17T03:15:19Z",
"published": "2022-05-17T03:15:19Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2016-8816"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://nvidia.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/4257"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/95051"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Mitigation MIT-7
Strategy: Input Validation
Use an input validation framework such as Struts or the OWASP ESAPI Validation API. Note that using a framework does not automatically address all input validation problems; be mindful of weaknesses that could arise from misusing the framework itself (CWE-1173).
Mitigation MIT-15
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
- Even though client-side checks provide minimal benefits with respect to server-side security, they are still useful. First, they can support intrusion detection. If the server receives input that should have been rejected by the client, then it may be an indication of an attack. Second, client-side error-checking can provide helpful feedback to the user about the expectations for valid input. Third, there may be a reduction in server-side processing time for accidental input errors, although this is typically a small savings.
Mitigation MIT-3
Strategy: Language Selection
- Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid.
- For example, Ada allows the programmer to constrain the values of a variable and languages such as Java and Ruby will allow the programmer to handle exceptions when an out-of-bounds index is accessed.
Mitigation MIT-11
Strategy: Environment Hardening
- Run or compile the software using features or extensions that randomly arrange the positions of a program's executable and libraries in memory. Because this makes the addresses unpredictable, it can prevent an attacker from reliably jumping to exploitable code.
- Examples include Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) [REF-58] [REF-60] and Position-Independent Executables (PIE) [REF-64]. Imported modules may be similarly realigned if their default memory addresses conflict with other modules, in a process known as "rebasing" (for Windows) and "prelinking" (for Linux) [REF-1332] using randomly generated addresses. ASLR for libraries cannot be used in conjunction with prelink since it would require relocating the libraries at run-time, defeating the whole purpose of prelinking.
- For more information on these techniques see D3-SAOR (Segment Address Offset Randomization) from D3FEND [REF-1335].
Mitigation MIT-12
Strategy: Environment Hardening
- Use a CPU and operating system that offers Data Execution Protection (using hardware NX or XD bits) or the equivalent techniques that simulate this feature in software, such as PaX [REF-60] [REF-61]. These techniques ensure that any instruction executed is exclusively at a memory address that is part of the code segment.
- For more information on these techniques see D3-PSEP (Process Segment Execution Prevention) from D3FEND [REF-1336].
Mitigation MIT-5
Strategy: Input Validation
- Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does.
- When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue."
- Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.
- When accessing a user-controlled array index, use a stringent range of values that are within the target array. Make sure that you do not allow negative values to be used. That is, verify the minimum as well as the maximum of the range of acceptable values.
Mitigation MIT-35
Be especially careful to validate all input when invoking code that crosses language boundaries, such as from an interpreted language to native code. This could create an unexpected interaction between the language boundaries. Ensure that you are not violating any of the expectations of the language with which you are interfacing. For example, even though Java may not be susceptible to buffer overflows, providing a large argument in a call to native code might trigger an overflow.
Mitigation MIT-17
Strategy: Environment Hardening
Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks [REF-76]. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.
Mitigation MIT-22
Strategy: Sandbox or Jail
- Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
- OS-level examples include the Unix chroot jail, AppArmor, and SELinux. In general, managed code may provide some protection. For example, java.io.FilePermission in the Java SecurityManager allows the software to specify restrictions on file operations.
- This may not be a feasible solution, and it only limits the impact to the operating system; the rest of the application may still be subject to compromise.
- Be careful to avoid CWE-243 and other weaknesses related to jails.
CAPEC-100: Overflow Buffers
Buffer Overflow attacks target improper or missing bounds checking on buffer operations, typically triggered by input injected by an adversary. As a consequence, an adversary is able to write past the boundaries of allocated buffer regions in memory, causing a program crash or potentially redirection of execution as per the adversaries' choice.