CWE-762: Mismatched Memory Management Routines

VariantIncompleteExploit Likelihood: Low

The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls a release function that is not compatible with the function that was originally used to allocate that resource.

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Extended Description

This weakness can be generally described as mismatching memory management routines, such as: The memory was allocated on the stack (automatically), but it was deallocated using the memory management routine free() (CWE-590), which is intended for explicitly allocated heap memory. The memory was allocated explicitly using one set of memory management functions, and deallocated using a different set. For example, memory might be allocated with malloc() in C++ instead of the new operator, and then deallocated with the delete operator. When the memory management functions are mismatched, the consequences may be as severe as code execution, memory corruption, or program crash. Consequences and ease of exploit will vary depending on the implementation of the routines and the object being managed.

Technical Details

Structure
Simple

Applicable To

Languages
CC++
Platforms

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