CWE-127: Buffer Under-read

What is CWE-127?

CWE-127 is Buffer Under-read. The flaw arises when the product reads from a buffer using buffer access mechanisms such as indexes or pointers that reference memory locations prior to the targeted buffer. The database currently holds 7 vulnerabilities mapped to CWE-127 and none of them are in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog.

OWASP Top 10 Rank-
Related CVES (365 days)7
AbstractionVariant
Likelihood of exploit-

Vulnerabilities mapped to CWE-127

7 vulnerabilities250% increase year over year

No data

No vulnerability data in CISA KEV for CWE-127

Official definition

ByMitre CWE

The product reads from a buffer using buffer access mechanisms such as indexes or pointers that reference memory locations prior to the targeted buffer.

Characteristics

Modes of introduction

  • Implementation: This typically occurs when the pointer or its index is decremented to a position before the buffer, when pointer arithmetic results in a position before the beginning of the valid memory location, or when a negative index is used. This may result in exposure of sensitive information or possibly a crash.

Common consequences

ImpactScopeExplanation
Read MemoryConfidentiality-
Bypass Protection MechanismConfidentialityBy reading out-of-bounds memory, an attacker might be able to get secret values, such as memory addresses, which can bypass protection mechanisms such as ASLR in order to improve the reliability and likelihood of exploiting a separate weakness to achieve code execution instead of just denial of service.

Detection methods

MethodApproachEffectiveness
Automated Static AnalysisAutomated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)High
Automated Dynamic AnalysisUse tools that are integrated during compilation to insert runtime error-checking mechanisms related to memory safety errors, such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) for C/C++ [REF-1518].Crafted inputs are necessary to reach the code containing the error, such as generated by fuzzers. Also, these tools may reduce performance, and they only report the error condition - not the original mistake that led to the error.Moderate

Representative vulnerabilities

Below are representative vulnerabilities related to this CWE, prioritized by severity.

Sources (2)

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