Love C, Hate C: Web Framework Memory Problems
12 hours ago
- #security
- #memory safety
- #C programming
- The author loves C for its simplicity, speed, and the intimate connection it provides with the computer.
- C is used in all of the author's personal projects, including graphics rendering engines.
- Despite its advantages, C is considered dangerous, and sharing new C projects widely can be risky due to security vulnerabilities.
- A web framework written in C was found to have memory safety issues, specifically in parsing HTTP requests.
- The code example shows vulnerabilities where 'Content-Length' from an HTTP packet is used without validation, leading to potential heap data copying issues.
- The use of signed integers for lengths in the project raises questions about handling negative values.
- A malicious user can exploit these vulnerabilities by manipulating the 'Content-Length' header, potentially causing undefined behavior.
- The author acknowledges C's elegance but also its potential for annoyance due to such security concerns.