CWE-401 Variante Brouillon Medium likelihood

Missing Release of Memory after Effective Lifetime

This vulnerability occurs when a program allocates memory but fails to properly release it after it's no longer needed, causing a gradual accumulation of unused memory that can't be reclaimed by the…

Définition

What is CWE-401?

Memory leaks happen when developers allocate memory (e.g., using `malloc()`, `new`, or similar functions) but neglect to free or delete it once the relevant operation is complete. This often stems from complex control flows, error conditions, or long-running processes where tracking every allocation becomes difficult. Over time, especially in servers or persistent applications, these unreleased blocks accumulate, steadily draining available system memory. This resource exhaustion can lead to severe performance degradation, application instability, or complete crashes when the system runs out of memory. To prevent this, developers must ensure that every allocation has a corresponding, guaranteed release, using techniques like automatic resource management (e.g., smart pointers in C++, try-with-resources in Java), rigorous code reviews, and specialized leak detection tools during testing.

Vulnerability Diagram CWE-401

Impact réel

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-401

CVE-2005-3119

Memory leak because function does not free() an element of a data structure.
CVE-2004-0427

Memory leak when counter variable is not decremented.
CVE-2002-0574

chain: reference count is not decremented, leading to memory leak in OS by sending ICMP packets.
CVE-2005-3181

Kernel uses wrong function to release a data structure, preventing data from being properly tracked by other code.
CVE-2004-0222

Memory leak via unknown manipulations as part of protocol test suite.
CVE-2001-0136

Memory leak via a series of the same command.

Comment les attaquants l'exploitent

Parcours de l'attaquant étape par étape

1
Identifier un chemin de code qui traite des entrées non fiables sans validation.
2
Élaborer une charge utile qui exploite le comportement non sécurisé — injection, traversal, débordement ou abus de logique.
3
Délivrer la charge utile via une requête normale et observer la réaction de l'application.
4
Itérer jusqu'à ce que la réponse divulgue des données, exécute le code de l'attaquant ou élève les privilèges.

Exemple de code vulnérable

Vulnerable C

The following C function leaks a block of allocated memory if the call to read() does not return the expected number of bytes:

Vulnérable C

char* getBlock(int fd) {
  		char* buf = (char*) malloc(BLOCK_SIZE);
  		if (!buf) {
  			return NULL;
  		}
  		if (read(fd, buf, BLOCK_SIZE) != BLOCK_SIZE) {
  				return NULL;
  		}
  		return buf;
  }

Exemple de code sécurisé

Secure pseudo

Sécurisé pseudo

// Validate, sanitize, or use a safe API before reaching the sink.
function handleRequest(input) {
  const safe = validateAndEscape(input);
  return executeWithGuards(safe);
}

What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.

Liste de contrôle de prévention

How to prevent CWE-401

Implementation Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC) [REF-391]. To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std::auto_ptr (defined by ISO/IEC ISO/IEC 14882:2003), std::shared_ptr and std::unique_ptr (specified by an upcoming revision of the C++ standard, informally referred to as C++ 1x), or equivalent solutions such as Boost.
Architecture and Design Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Not a complete solution.
Architecture and Design / Build and Compilation The Boehm-Demers-Weiser Garbage Collector or valgrind can be used to detect leaks in code.

Signaux de détection

How to detect CWE-401

Fuzzing High

Fuzz testing (fuzzing) is a powerful technique for generating large numbers of diverse inputs - either randomly or algorithmically - and dynamically invoking the code with those inputs. Even with random inputs, it is often capable of generating unexpected results such as crashes, memory corruption, or resource consumption. Fuzzing effectively produces repeatable test cases that clearly indicate bugs, which helps developers to diagnose the issues.

Automated Static Analysis High

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)

Correction automatique Plexicus

Plexicus détecte automatiquement CWE-401 et ouvre une PR de correction en moins de 60 secondes.

Codex Remedium analyse chaque commit, identifie cette faiblesse précise et livre une pull request prête à être relue avec le correctif. Pas de tickets. Pas de transferts.

Obtenir une démo Essayer Plexicus gratuitement

Questions fréquentes

Frequently asked questions

Qu'est-ce que CWE-401 ?

Quelle est la gravité de CWE-401 ?

MITRE évalue la probabilité d'exploitation comme Moyenne — l'exploitation est réaliste mais nécessite généralement des conditions spécifiques.

Quels langages ou plateformes sont affectés par CWE-401 ?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: C, C++.

Comment puis-je prévenir CWE-401 ?

Choose a language or tool that provides automatic memory management, or makes manual memory management less error-prone. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. When using Xcode to target OS X or iOS, enable automatic reference counting (ARC) [REF-391]. To help correctly and consistently manage memory when programming in C++, consider using a smart pointer class such as std::auto_ptr (defined by ISO/IEC ISO/IEC 14882:2003), std::shared_ptr and…

Comment Plexicus détecte et corrige CWE-401 ?

Le moteur SAST de Plexicus reconnaît la signature de flux de données de CWE-401 à chaque commit. Lorsqu'une correspondance est trouvée, notre agent Codex Remedium ouvre une PR de correction avec le code corrigé, les tests et un résumé d'une ligne pour le relecteur.

Où puis-je en savoir plus sur CWE-401 ?

MITRE publie la définition canonique à https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/401.html. Vous pouvez également consulter la documentation OWASP et NIST pour des conseils adjacents.

Faiblesses associées

Weaknesses related to CWE-401

CWE-772 Parent

Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime

This vulnerability occurs when a program fails to properly release a system resource—like memory, file handles, or network sockets—after…

CWE-1091 Frère

Use of Object without Invoking Destructor Method

This weakness occurs when a program accesses an object but fails to properly call its destructor or finalizer method. This leaves the…

CWE-775 Frère

Missing Release of File Descriptor or Handle after Effective Lifetime

This vulnerability occurs when a program fails to properly close file descriptors or handles after they are no longer needed, leaving…

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