Use After Free
Use-After-Free vulnerabilities are a type of memory corruption flaw that can be leveraged by hackers to execute arbitrary code.
Use After Free specifically refers to the attempt to access memory after it has been freed, which can cause a program to crash or, in the case of a Use-After-Free flaw, can potentially result in the execution of arbitrary code or even enable full remote code execution capabilities.
The Specifics of Use-After-Free Memory Corruption
According to the Use After Free definition on the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) website, a Use After Free scenario can occur when “the memory in question is allocated to another pointer validly at some point after it has been freed. The original pointer to the freed memory is used again and points to somewhere within the new allocation. As the data is changed, it corrupts the validly used memory; this induces undefined behavior in the process.”
Use After Free Flaws and Microsoft’s IE Browser
Use After Free flaws have gained attention in recent years, particularly in association with Microsoft and its Internet Explorer web browser, which has received numerous security patches to update a variety of Use-After-Free security vulnerabilities.
Read Also:
- Block-Level Storage
Block-level storage is a type of storage commonly deployed by larger businesses and enterprises in storage area networks (SANs) and similar large-scale storage systems. Each block in a block-level storage system can be controlled as an individual hard drive, and the blocks are managed by a server operating system. Block-level storage protocols like iSCSI, Fibre […]
- Google Project Zero
Google Project Zero is a little-known research group whose focus is finding security vulnerabilities in Google’s software products like the Google Chrome web browser. Google Project Zero has also gained attention for identifying and sharing security vulnerability information with companies like Apple and Microsoft for their operating system and software offerings. Little Known About Google […]
- File-Level Storage
File-level storage is the predominant storage technology used on hard drives, network-attached storage (NAS) systems and similar storage systems. File-level storage stands in contrast to block-level storage in that individual files and folders can be accessed and managed by the storage system, whereas the smaller storage blocks that make up the files and folders cannot […]
- Linux Deepin
Linux Deepin, or the Deepin Project, is a Linux distribution based on Ubuntu Linux. Formerly known as Hiweed Linux, Linux Deepin stands out for its polished desktop interface, the Deepin Desktop Environment (DDE), which is based on GNOME 3. The Deepin Project is developed by a core team of Chinese developers, Wuhan Deepin Technology Co., […]
- Spamdexing
The practice of using improper Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tactics in an attempt to manipulate or elevate the placement of a web site on a search engine’s search results pages (SERP). Also referred to as search engine spam or Black Hat SEO, spamdexing can include activities such as keyword stuffing, link spamming, duplication of copyrighted […]