CWE-130 Software Weakness Details

CWE-130

Name

Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency

Status

Incomplete

Published

2006-07-19
00h00 +00:00

Modified

2024-02-29
00h00 +00:00

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CWE Mitre.org

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Name: Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency

The product parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the associated data.

CWE Description

If an attacker can manipulate the length parameter associated with an input such that it is inconsistent with the actual length of the input, this can be leveraged to cause the target application to behave in unexpected, and possibly, malicious ways. One of the possible motives for doing so is to pass in arbitrarily large input to the application. Another possible motivation is the modification of application state by including invalid data for subsequent properties of the application. Such weaknesses commonly lead to attacks such as buffer overflows and execution of arbitrary code.

General Informations

Modes Of Introduction

Implementation

Applicable Platforms

Language

Name: C (Sometimes)
Name: C++ (Sometimes)
Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Common Consequences

Scope	Impact	Likelihood
Confidentiality Integrity	Read Memory, Modify Memory, Varies by Context

Observed Examples

References	Description
CVE-2014-0160	Chain: "Heartbleed" bug receives an inconsistent length parameter (CWE-130) enabling an out-of-bounds read (CWE-126), returning memory that could include private cryptographic keys and other sensitive data.
CVE-2009-2299	Web application firewall consumes excessive memory when an HTTP request contains a large Content-Length value but no POST data.
CVE-2001-0825	Buffer overflow in internal string handling routine allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a length argument of zero or less, which disables the length check.
CVE-2001-1186	Web server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via an HTTP request with a content-length value that is larger than the size of the request, which prevents server from timing out the connection.
CVE-2001-0191	Service does not properly check the specified length of a cookie, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a buffer overflow, or brute force authentication by using a short cookie length.
CVE-2003-0429	Traffic analyzer allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via invalid IPv4 or IPv6 prefix lengths, possibly triggering a buffer overflow.
CVE-2000-0655	Chat client allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service or execute arbitrary commands via a JPEG image containing a comment with an illegal field length of 1.
CVE-2004-0492	Server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via a negative Content-Length HTTP header field causing a heap-based buffer overflow.
CVE-2004-0201	Help program allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary commands via a heap-based buffer overflow caused by a .CHM file with a large length field
CVE-2003-0825	Name services does not properly validate the length of certain packets, which allows attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code. Can overlap zero-length issues
CVE-2004-0095	Policy manager allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption and crash) and possibly execute arbitrary code via an HTTP POST request with an invalid Content-Length value.
CVE-2004-0826	Heap-based buffer overflow in library allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a modified record length field in an SSLv2 client hello message.
CVE-2004-0808	When domain logons are enabled, server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a SAM_UAS_CHANGE request with a length value that is larger than the number of structures that are provided.
CVE-2002-1357	Multiple SSH2 servers and clients do not properly handle packets or data elements with incorrect length specifiers, which may allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service or possibly execute arbitrary code.
CVE-2004-0774	Server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (CPU and memory exhaustion) via a POST request with a Content-Length header set to -1.
CVE-2004-0989	Multiple buffer overflows in xml library that may allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via long URLs.
CVE-2004-0568	Application does not properly validate the length of a value that is saved in a session file, which allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a malicious session file (.ht), web site, or Telnet URL contained in an e-mail message, triggering a buffer overflow.
CVE-2003-0327	Server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service via a remote password array with an invalid length, which triggers a heap-based buffer overflow.
CVE-2003-0345	Product allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via an SMB packet that specifies a smaller buffer length than is required.
CVE-2004-0430	Server allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a LoginExt packet for a Cleartext Password User Authentication Method (UAM) request with a PathName argument that includes an AFPName type string that is longer than the associated length field.
CVE-2005-0064	PDF viewer allows remote attackers to execute arbitrary code via a PDF file with a large /Encrypt /Length keyLength value.
CVE-2004-0413	SVN client trusts the length field of SVN protocol URL strings, which allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service and possibly execute arbitrary code via an integer overflow that leads to a heap-based buffer overflow.
CVE-2004-0940	Is effectively an accidental double increment of a counter that prevents a length check conditional from exiting a loop.
CVE-2002-1235	Length field of a request not verified.
CVE-2005-3184	Buffer overflow by modifying a length value.

Potential Mitigations

Phases : Implementation
When processing structured incoming data containing a size field followed by raw data, ensure that you identify and resolve any inconsistencies between the size field and the actual size of the data.
Phases : Implementation
Do not let the user control the size of the buffer.
Phases : Implementation
Validate that the length of the user-supplied data is consistent with the buffer size.

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Justification : This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Comment : Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Related Attack Patterns

CAPEC-ID	Attack Pattern Name
CAPEC-47	Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion In this attack, the target software is given input that the adversary knows will be modified and expanded in size during processing. This attack relies on the target software failing to anticipate that the expanded data may exceed some internal limit, thereby creating a buffer overflow.

NotesNotes

This probably overlaps other categories including zero-length issues.

Submission

Name	Organization	Date	Date release	Version
PLOVER		2006-07-19 +00:00	2006-07-19 +00:00	Draft 3

Modifications

Name	Organization	Date	Comment
Eric Dalci	Cigital	2008-07-01 +00:00	updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2008-09-08 +00:00	updated Applicable_Platforms, Description, Name, Relationships, Observed_Example, Relationship_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings, Weakness_Ordinalities
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2009-03-10 +00:00	updated Description, Name
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2009-12-28 +00:00	updated Observed_Examples
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2010-02-16 +00:00	updated Description, Potential_Mitigations, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2010-12-13 +00:00	updated Potential_Mitigations
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2011-03-29 +00:00	updated Demonstrative_Examples
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2011-06-01 +00:00	updated Common_Consequences
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2011-06-27 +00:00	updated Common_Consequences
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2012-05-11 +00:00	updated Observed_Examples, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2012-10-30 +00:00	updated Potential_Mitigations
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2013-07-17 +00:00	updated Type
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2014-06-23 +00:00	updated Observed_Examples
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2014-07-30 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2017-01-19 +00:00	updated Type
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2017-11-08 +00:00	updated Applicable_Platforms, Causal_Nature, Demonstrative_Examples
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2020-02-24 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2020-06-25 +00:00	updated Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2020-08-20 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2020-12-10 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2022-10-13 +00:00	updated Taxonomy_Mappings
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-01-31 +00:00	updated Description
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-04-27 +00:00	updated Relationships, Time_of_Introduction
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-06-29 +00:00	updated Mapping_Notes
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2024-02-29 +00:00	updated Observed_Examples

CWE-130 Detail