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Home/CWEs/CWE-415/

CWE-415 - Double Free

  • Abstraction:Variant
  • Structure:Simple
  • Status:Draft
  • Release Date:2006-07-19
  • Latest Modification Date:2025-04-03

Weakness Name

Double Free

Description

The product calls free() twice on the same memory address.

Common Consequences

Scope: Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability

Impact: Modify Memory, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands

Notes: When a program calls free() twice with the same argument, the program's memory management data structures may become corrupted, potentially leading to the reading or modification of unexpected memory addresses. This corruption can cause the program to crash or, in some circumstances, cause two later calls to malloc() to return the same pointer. If malloc() returns the same value twice and the program later gives the attacker control over the data that is written into this doubly-allocated memory, the program becomes vulnerable to a buffer overflow attack. Doubly freeing memory may result in a write-what-where condition, allowing an attacker to execute arbitrary code.

Related Weaknesses

CWE-123Write-what-where ConditionHigh

CWE-416Use After FreeHigh

CWE-666Operation on Resource in Wrong Phase of Lifetime

CWE-672Operation on a Resource after Expiration or Release

CWE-825Expired Pointer Dereference

CWE-1341Multiple Releases of Same Resource or Handle