CWE-665: Improper Initialization
CWE版本: 4.18
更新日期: 2025-09-09
弱点描述
The product does not initialize or incorrectly initializes a resource, which might leave the resource in an unexpected state when it is accessed or used.
扩展描述
This can have security implications when the associated resource is expected to have certain properties or values, such as a variable that determines whether a user has been authenticated or not.
常见后果
影响范围: Confidentiality
技术影响: Read Memory Read Application Data
说明: When reusing a resource such as memory or a program variable, the original contents of that resource may not be cleared before it is sent to an untrusted party.
影响范围: Access Control
技术影响: Bypass Protection Mechanism
说明: If security-critical decisions rely on a variable having a "0" or equivalent value, and the programming language performs this initialization on behalf of the programmer, then a bypass of security may occur.
影响范围: Availability
技术影响: DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
说明: The uninitialized data may contain values that cause program flow to change in ways that the programmer did not intend. For example, if an uninitialized variable is used as an array index in C, then its previous contents may produce an index that is outside the range of the array, possibly causing a crash or an exit in other environments.
潜在缓解措施
阶段: Requirements
策略: Language Selection
阶段: Architecture and Design
描述: Identify all variables and data stores that receive information from external sources, and apply input validation to make sure that they are only initialized to expected values.
阶段: Implementation
描述: Explicitly initialize all your variables and other data stores, either during declaration or just before the first usage.
阶段: Implementation
描述: Pay close attention to complex conditionals that affect initialization, since some conditions might not perform the initialization.
阶段: Implementation
描述: Avoid race conditions (CWE-362) during initialization routines.
阶段: Build and Compilation
描述: Run or compile your product with settings that generate warnings about uninitialized variables or data.
阶段: Testing
描述: Use automated static analysis tools that target this type of weakness. Many modern techniques use data flow analysis to minimize the number of false positives. This is not a perfect solution, since 100% accuracy and coverage are not feasible.
检测方法
方法: Automated Dynamic Analysis
有效性: Moderate
方法: Manual Dynamic Analysis
Identify error conditions that are not likely to occur during normal usage and trigger them. For example, run the program under low memory conditions, run with insufficient privileges or permissions, interrupt a transaction before it is completed, or disable connectivity to basic network services such as DNS. Monitor the software for any unexpected behavior. If you trigger an unhandled exception or similar error that was discovered and handled by the application's environment, it may still indicate unexpected conditions that were not handled by the application itself.
方法: Automated Static Analysis
Automated 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.)
有效性: High
观察示例
参考: CVE-2001-1471
chain: an invalid value prevents a library file from being included, skipping initialization of key variables, leading to resultant eval injection.
参考: CVE-2008-3637
Improper error checking in protection mechanism produces an uninitialized variable, allowing security bypass and code execution.
参考: CVE-2008-4197
Use of uninitialized memory may allow code execution.
参考: CVE-2008-2934
Free of an uninitialized pointer leads to crash and possible code execution.
参考: CVE-2007-3749
OS kernel does not reset a port when starting a setuid program, allowing local users to access the port and gain privileges.
参考: CVE-2008-0063
Product does not clear memory contents when generating an error message, leading to information leak.
参考: CVE-2008-0062
Lack of initialization triggers NULL pointer dereference or double-free.
参考: CVE-2008-0081
Uninitialized variable leads to code execution in popular desktop application.
参考: CVE-2008-3688
chain: Uninitialized variable leads to infinite loop.
参考: CVE-2008-3475
chain: Improper initialization leads to memory corruption.
参考: CVE-2008-5021
Composite: race condition allows attacker to modify an object while it is still being initialized, causing software to access uninitialized memory.
参考: CVE-2005-1036
Chain: Bypass of access restrictions due to improper authorization (CWE-862) of a user results from an improperly initialized (CWE-909) I/O permission bitmap
参考: CVE-2008-3597
chain: game server can access player data structures before initialization has happened leading to NULL dereference
参考: CVE-2009-2692
chain: uninitialized function pointers can be dereferenced allowing code execution
参考: CVE-2009-0949
chain: improper initialization of memory can lead to NULL dereference
参考: CVE-2009-3620
chain: some unprivileged ioctls do not verify that a structure has been initialized before invocation, leading to NULL dereference
引入模式
| 阶段 | 说明 |
|---|---|
| Implementation | This weakness can occur in code paths that are not well-tested, such as rare error conditions. This is because the use of uninitialized data would be noticed as a bug during frequently-used functionality. |
| Operation | - |
适用平台
编程语言
分类映射
| 分类名称 | 条目ID | 条目名称 | 映射适配度 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PLOVER | - | Incorrect initialization | - |
| CERT C Secure Coding | ARR02-C | Explicitly specify array bounds, even if implicitly defined by an initializer | - |
| The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java (2011) | DCL00-J | Prevent class initialization cycles | - |
| Software Fault Patterns | SFP4 | Unchecked Status Condition | - |
关键信息
CWE ID: CWE-665
抽象级别: Class
结构: Simple
状态: Draft
利用可能性: Medium