CWE-763 Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference

The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls the wrong release function or calls the appropriate release function incorrectly.

• Integrity, Availability, Confidentiality: Modify Memory, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands — This weakness may result in the corruption of memory, and perhaps instructions, possibly leading to a crash. If the corrupted memory can be effectively controlled, it may be possible to execute arbitrary code.

• [Implementation] Only call matching memory management functions. Do not mix and match routines. For example, when you allocate a buffer with malloc(), dispose of the original pointer with free(). • [Implementation] When programming in C++, consider using smart pointers provided by the boost library to help correctly and consistently manage memory. • [Architecture and Design] Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, glibc in Linux provides protection against free of invalid pointers. • [Architecture and Design] Use a language that provides abstractions for memory allocation and deallocation.

• Fuzzing: Fuzz testing (fuzzing) is a powerful technique for generating large numbers of diverse inputs - either randomly or algorithmically - and dynamically invoking the code with those inputs. Even with random inputs, it is often capable of generating unexpected results such as crashes, memory corruption, or resource consumption. Fuzzing effectively produces repeatable test cases that clearly indicate bugs, which helps developers to diagnose the issues. • Automated Dynamic Analysis: Use tools that are integrated during compilation to insert runtime error-checking mechanisms related to memory safety errors, such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) for C/C++ [REF-1518] or valgrind [REF-480].

• CVE-2025-11015: 3D engine rendering backend performs a delete[] on a buffer that was allocated using malloc() • CVE-2019-11930: function "internally calls 'calloc' and returns a pointer at an index... inside the allocated buffer. This led to freeing invalid memory."