CWE-771—Missing Reference to Active Allocated Resource

Weakness Name

Missing Reference to Active Allocated Resource

Description

The product does not properly maintain a reference to a resource that has been allocated, which prevents the resource from being reclaimed.

This does not necessarily apply in languages or frameworks that automatically perform garbage collection, since the removal of all references may act as a signal that the resource is ready to be reclaimed.

Common Consequences

Scope:

Availability

Impact:

DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)

Notes:

An attacker that can influence the allocation of resources that are not properly maintained could deplete the available resource pool and prevent all other processes from accessing the same type of resource.

Related Weaknesses

• CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource ConsumptionHigh