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Difference between revisions of "Race condition in switch"
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Revision as of 23:58, 5 November 2008
This is a Vulnerability. To view all vulnerabilities, please see the Vulnerability Category page.
Last revision (mm/dd/yy): 11/5/2008
Description
If the variable which is switched on is changed while the switch statement is still in progress, undefined activity may occur.
Consequences
- Undefined: This flaw will result in the system state going out of sync.
Exposure period
- Implementation: Variable locking is the purview of implementers.
Platform
- Languages: All that allow for multi-threaded activity
- Operating platforms: All
Required resources
Any
Severity
Medium
Likelihood of exploit
Medium
This issue is particularly important in the case of switch statements that involve fall-through style case statements - i.e., those which do not end with break.
If the variable which we are switching on change in the course of execution, the actions carried out may place the state of the process in a contradictory state or even result in memory corruption.
For this reason, it is important to ensure that all variables involved in switch statements are locked before the statement starts and are unlocked when the statement ends.
Risk Factors
TBD
Examples
In C/C++:
#include <sys/types.h>
#include <sys/stat.h>
int main(argc,argv){
struct stat *sb;
time_t timer;
lstat("bar.sh",sb);
printf("%d\n",sb->st_ctime);
switch(sb->st_ctime % 2){
case 0: printf("One option\n");break;
case 1: printf("another option\n");break;
default: printf("huh\n");break;
}
return 0;
}
Related Attacks
Related Vulnerabilities
Related Controls
- Implementation: Variables that may be subject to race conditions should be locked for the duration of any switch statements.
Related Technical Impacts
References
TBD
