CWE-785 Use of Path Manipulation Function without Maximum-sized Buffer

The product invokes a function for normalizing paths or file names, but it provides an output buffer that is smaller than the maximum possible size, such as PATH_MAX.

Path manipulation functions include realpath(), readlink(), PathAppend(), and others.

• Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability: Modify Memory, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart — Passing an inadequately-sized output buffer to a path manipulation function can result in a buffer overflow.

• [Implementation] Always specify output buffers large enough to handle the maximum-size possible result from path manipulation functions.

• Automated Static Analysis: Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)