CWE-587: Assignment of a Fixed Address to a Pointer
Weakness ID: 587
Abstraction: Base Structure: Simple
Status: Draft
Presentation Filter:
Description
The software sets a pointer to a specific address other than NULL or 0.
Extended Description
Using a fixed address is not portable because that address will probably not be valid in all environments or platforms.
Relationships
The table(s) below shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore.
Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (CWE-1000)
Nature
Type
ID
Name
ChildOf
Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More general than a Base weakness.
Base - a weakness that is described in an abstract fashion, but with sufficient details to infer specific methods for detection and prevention. More general than a Variant weakness, but more specific than a Class weakness.
The different Modes of Introduction provide information about how and when this weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the software life cycle at which introduction may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the given phase.
Phase
Note
Architecture and Design
Implementation
Applicable Platforms
The listings below show possible areas for which the given weakness could appear. These may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms, Technologies, or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given weakness appears for that instance.
Languages
C (Undetermined Prevalence)
C++ (Undetermined Prevalence)
C# (Undetermined Prevalence)
Class: Assembly (Undetermined Prevalence)
Common Consequences
The table below specifies different individual consequences associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to achieve a different impact.
Scope
Impact
Likelihood
Integrity Confidentiality Availability
Technical Impact: Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands
If one executes code at a known location, an attacker might be able to inject code there beforehand.
Availability
Technical Impact: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
If the code is ported to another platform or environment, the pointer is likely to be invalid and cause a crash.
Confidentiality Integrity
Technical Impact: Read Memory; Modify Memory
The data at a known pointer location can be easily read or influenced by an attacker.
Demonstrative Examples
Example 1
This code assumes a particular function will always be found at a particular address. It assigns a pointer to that address and calls the function.
(bad code)
Example Language: C
int (*pt2Function) (float, char, char)=0x08040000; int result2 = (*pt2Function) (12, 'a', 'b'); // Here we can inject code to execute.
The same function may not always be found at the same memory address. This could lead to a crash, or an attacker may alter the memory at the expected address, leading to arbitrary code execution.
Potential Mitigations
Phase: Implementation
Never set a pointer to a fixed address.
Weakness Ordinalities
Ordinality
Description
Primary
(where the weakness exists independent of other weaknesses)
Memberships
This MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits within the context of external information sources.
Nature
Type
ID
Name
MemberOf
Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.
View - a subset of CWE entries that provides a way of examining CWE content. The two main view structures are Slices (flat lists) and Graphs (containing relationships between entries).
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Page Last Updated:
January 03, 2019
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Description
Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (CWE-1000)
