CWE-404

Improper Resource Shutdown or Release

Medium

Description

The product does not release or incorrectly releases a resource before it is made available for re-use.

Potential Impact

How to Fix

Requirements

Use a language that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, languages such as Java, Ruby, and Lisp perform automatic garbage collection that releases memory for objects that have been deallocated.

Implementation

It is good practice to be responsible for freeing all resources you allocate and to be consistent with how and where you free memory in a function. If you allocate memory that you intend to free upon completion of the function, you must be sure to free the memory at all exit points for that function including error conditions.

Implementation

Memory should be allocated/freed using matching functions such as malloc/free, new/delete, and new[]/delete[].

Implementation

When releasing a complex object or structure, ensure that you properly dispose of all of its member components, not just the object itself.

Detection Methods

Related Weaknesses

References

View on MITRE CWE Database →

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