CWE-806: Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer
The product uses the size of a source buffer when reading from or writing to a destination buffer, which may cause it to access memory that is outside of the bounds of the buffer.
View on MITREExtended Description
When the size of the destination is smaller than the size of the source, a buffer overflow could occur.
Technical Details
- Structure
- Simple
Applicable To
Security Consequences
Scope
Impact
Buffer overflows generally lead to crashes. Other attacks leading to lack of availability are possible, including putting the program into an infinite loop.
Scope
Impact
Buffer overflows often can be used to execute arbitrary code, which is usually outside the scope of a program's implicit security policy.
Scope
Impact
When the consequence is arbitrary code execution, this can often be used to subvert any other security service.
Mitigation Strategies
Phase
Description
Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. This is not a complete solution, since many buffer overflows are not related to strings.
Phase
Description
Programmers should adhere to the following rules when allocating and managing their applications memory: Double check that your buffer is as large as you specify. When using functions that accept a number of bytes to copy, such as strncpy(), be aware that if the destination buffer size is equal to the source buffer size, it may not NULL-terminate the string. Check buffer boundaries if calling this function in a loop and make sure there is no danger of writing past the allocated space. Truncate all input strings to a reasonable length before passing them to the copy and concatenation functions.
Phase
Description
Most mitigating technologies at the compiler or OS level to date address only a subset of buffer overflow problems and rarely provide complete protection against even that subset. It is good practice to implement strategies to increase the workload of an attacker, such as leaving the attacker to guess an unknown value that changes every program execution.
Detection Methods
No detection method information available for this CWE.
Code Examples & CVEs
Demonstrative Examples
In the following example, the source character string is copied to the dest character string using the method strncpy.
However, in the call to strncpy the source character string is used within the sizeof call to determine the number of characters to copy. This will create a buffer overflow as the size of the source character string is greater than the dest character string. The dest character string should be used within the sizeof call to ensure that the correct number of characters are copied, as shown below.
In the following example, the source character string is copied to the dest character string using the method strncpy.
However, in the call to strncpy the source character string is used within the sizeof call to determine the number of characters to copy. This will create a buffer overflow as the size of the source character string is greater than the dest character string. The dest character string should be used within the sizeof call to ensure that the correct number of characters are copied, as shown below.
In this example, the method outputFilenameToLog outputs a filename to a log file. The method arguments include a pointer to a character string containing the file name and an integer for the number of characters in the string. The filename is copied to a buffer where the buffer size is set to a maximum size for inputs to the log file. The method then calls another method to save the contents of the buffer to the log file.
However, in this case the string copy method, strncpy, mistakenly uses the length method argument to determine the number of characters to copy rather than using the size of the local character string, buf. This can lead to a buffer overflow if the number of characters contained in character string pointed to by filename is larger then the number of characters allowed for the local character string. The string copy method should use the buf character string within a sizeof call to ensure that only characters up to the size of the buf array are copied to avoid a buffer overflow, as shown below.
In this example, the method outputFilenameToLog outputs a filename to a log file. The method arguments include a pointer to a character string containing the file name and an integer for the number of characters in the string. The filename is copied to a buffer where the buffer size is set to a maximum size for inputs to the log file. The method then calls another method to save the contents of the buffer to the log file.
However, in this case the string copy method, strncpy, mistakenly uses the length method argument to determine the number of characters to copy rather than using the size of the local character string, buf. This can lead to a buffer overflow if the number of characters contained in character string pointed to by filename is larger then the number of characters allowed for the local character string. The string copy method should use the buf character string within a sizeof call to ensure that only characters up to the size of the buf array are copied to avoid a buffer overflow, as shown below.
CWE Relationships
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CWE-806: Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer?+
CWE-806: Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product uses the size of a source buffer when reading from or writing to a destination buffer, which may cause it to access memory that is outside of the bounds of the buffer. When the size of the destination is smaller than the size of the source, a buffer overflow could occur.
What are the security consequences of Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer?+
If exploited, CWE-806 (Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer) it can compromise Availability, Integrity, Confidentiality and Access Control, leading to outcomes such as Modify Memory, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU), Read Memory, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands and Bypass Protection Mechanism.
How do you prevent or mitigate Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer?+
Recommended mitigations for CWE-806 include: Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. Examples include the Safe C String Library (SafeStr) by Viega, and the Strsafe.h library from Microsoft. This is not a complete solution, since many buffer overflows are not related to strings. Programmers should adhere to the following rules when allocating and managing their applications memory: Double check that your buffer is as large as you specify. When using functions that accept a number of bytes to copy, such as strncpy(), be aware that if the destination buffer size is equal to the source buffer size, it may not NULL-terminate the string. Check buffer boundaries if calling this function in a loop and make sure there is no danger of writing past the allocated space. Truncate all input strings to a reasonable length before passing them to the copy and concatenation functions. Most mitigating technologies at the compiler or OS level to date address only a subset of buffer overflow problems and rarely provide complete protection against even that subset. It is good practice to implement strategies to increase the workload of an attacker, such as leaving the attacker to guess an unknown value that changes every program execution.
Which programming languages are affected by Buffer Access Using Size of Source Buffer?+
CWE-806 commonly affects C and C++. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.
What is the difference between a CWE and a CVE?+
A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-806 describes a category of software weakness — the underlying flaw type. A CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) identifies a specific, real-world vulnerability in a particular product. In short, a CWE is the kind of mistake, and a CVE is an instance of that mistake being found in software.