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CWE-662

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CWE-662

Improper Synchronization

Class
Draft

Description

The product utilizes multiple threads, processes, components, or systems to allow temporary access to a shared resource that can only be exclusive to one process at a time, but it does not properly synchronize these actions, which might cause simultaneous accesses of this resource by multiple threads or processes.

{"xhtml:p":["Synchronization refers to a variety of behaviors and mechanisms that allow two or more independently-operating processes or threads to ensure that they operate on shared resources in predictable ways that do not interfere with each other. Some shared resource operations cannot be executed atomically; that is, multiple steps must be guaranteed to execute sequentially, without any interference by other processes. Synchronization mechanisms vary widely, but they may include locking, mutexes, and semaphores. When a multi-step operation on a shared resource cannot be guaranteed to execute independent of interference, then the resulting behavior can be unpredictable. Improper synchronization could lead to data or memory corruption, denial of service, etc."]}

Common Consequences

Scope

Integrity
Confidentiality
Other

Impact

Modify Application Data, Read Application Data, Alter Execution Logic

Potential Mitigations

Implementation

Use industry standard APIs to synchronize your code.

CVE-2021-1782

Chain: improper locking (CWE-667) leads to race condition (CWE-362), as exploited in the wild per CISA KEV.

CVE-2009-0935

Attacker provides invalid address to a memory-reading function, causing a mutex to be unlocked twice

Applicable Platforms

Not Language-Specific

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