CWE-688: Function Call With Incorrect Variable or Reference as Argument
Function Call With Incorrect Variable or Reference as Argument
Weakness ID: 688 (Weakness Variant)
Status: Draft
Description
Description Summary
The software calls a function, procedure, or routine, but the
caller specifies the wrong variable or reference as one of the arguments, which
may lead to undefined behavior and resultant weaknesses.
Time of Introduction
Implementation
Applicable Platforms
Languages
C
Perl
Modes of Introduction
This problem typically occurs when the programmer makes a typo, or copy
and paste errors.
Detection Factors
While this weakness might be caught by the compiler in some languages,
it can occur more frequently in cases in which the called function
accepts variable numbers of arguments, such as format strings in C. It
also can occur in loosely typed languages or environments. This might
require an understanding of intended program behavior or design to
determine whether the value is incorrect.
Demonstrative Examples
Example 1
In the following Java snippet, the accessGranted() method is
accidentally called with the static ADMIN_ROLES array rather than the user
roles.
(Bad Code)
Java
private static final String[] ADMIN_ROLES = ...;
public boolean void accessGranted(String resource, String user)
{
Kernel code specifies the wrong variable in first
argument, leading to resultant NULL pointer
dereference.
Potential Mitigations
Phase
Description
Use the function, procedure, routine as specified.
Because this function call often produces incorrect behavior it will
usually be detected during testing or normal operation of the software.
During testing exercise all possible control paths will typically expose
this weakness except in rare cases when the incorrect function call
accidentally produces the correct results or if the provided argument
type is very similar to the expected argument type.
Weakness Ordinalities
Ordinality
Description
Primary
(where the
weakness exists independent of other weaknesses)
Description
