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CWE-1284

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CWE-1284

Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input

Base
Incomplete

Description

The product receives input that is expected to specify a quantity (such as size or length), but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the quantity has the required properties.

{"xhtml:p":["Specified quantities include size, length, frequency, price, rate, number of operations, time, and others. Code may rely on specified quantities to allocate resources, perform calculations, control iteration, etc. "]}

Parent Weaknesses (ChildOf)

Related Weaknesses

Common Consequences

Scope

Other
Integrity
Availability

Impact

Varies by Context, DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU), Modify Memory, Read Memory

Potential Mitigations

Implementation

Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue." Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.

CVE-2025-4037

ATM simulator does not check for negative values with deposits or withdrawals, allowing attackers to increase their balance

CVE-2025-46687

Chain: Javascript engine code does not perform a length check (CWE-1284) leading to integer overflow (CWE-190) causing allocation of smaller buffer than expected (CWE-131) resulting in a heap-based buffer overflow (CWE-122)

CVE-2019-19911

Chain: Python library does not limit the resources used to process images that specify a very large number of bands (CWE-1284), leading to excessive memory consumption (CWE-789) or an integer overflow (CWE-190).

CVE-2008-1440

lack of validation of length field leads to infinite loop

CVE-2008-2374

lack of validation of string length fields allows memory consumption or buffer over-read

Applicable Platforms

Not Language-Specific

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