CWE-626: Null Byte Interaction Error (Poison Null Byte)

VariantDraft

The product does not properly handle null bytes or NUL characters when passing data between different representations or components.

View on MITRE
Back to CWE Lookup

Extended Description

A null byte (NUL character) can have different meanings across representations or languages. For example, it is a string terminator in standard C libraries, but Perl and PHP strings do not treat it as a terminator. When two representations are crossed - such as when Perl or PHP invokes underlying C functionality - this can produce an interaction error with unexpected results. Similar issues have been reported for ASP. Other interpreters written in C might also be affected. The poison null byte is frequently useful in path traversal attacks by terminating hard-coded extensions that are added to a filename. It can play a role in regular expression processing in PHP.

Technical Details

Structure
Simple

Applicable To

Languages
PHPPerlASP.NET
Platforms

Learn More