Many functions accept pointers as arguments. If the function dereferences an invalid pointer (as in EXP34-C. Do not dereference null pointers) or reads or writes to a pointer that does not refer to an object, the results are undefined. Typically, the program will terminate abnormally when an invalid pointer is dereferenced, but it is possible for an invalid pointer to be dereferenced and its memory changed without abnormal termination [Jack 2007]. Such programs can be difficult to debug because of the difficulty in determining if a pointer is valid.
One way to eliminate invalid pointers is to define a function that accepts a pointer argument and indicates whether or not the pointer is valid for some definition of valid. For example, the following function declares any pointer to be valid except NULL:
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Rule | Severity | Likelihood | Remediation Cost | Priority | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MEM10-C | highHigh | unlikelyUnlikely | highHigh | P3 | L3 |
Related Vulnerabilities
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