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Improper input validation [1] or unchecked user input is a type of vulnerability in computer software that may be used for security exploits. [2] This vulnerability is caused when "[t]he product does not validate or incorrectly validates input that can affect the control flow or data flow of a program." [1] Examples include: Buffer overflow
Example 1: legacy code may have been designed for ASCII input but now the input is UTF-8. Example 2 : legacy code may have been compiled and tested on 32-bit architectures, but when compiled on 64-bit architectures, new arithmetic problems may occur (e.g., invalid signedness tests, invalid type casts, etc.).
For example: What the user may consider as valid input may contain token characters or strings that have been reserved by the developer to have special meaning (such as the ampersand or quotation marks). The user may submit a malformed file as input that is handled properly in one application but is toxic to the receiving system.
This structure distinguishes valid input that is accepted and processed by the program from invalid input that is quickly rejected by the program. What constitutes a valid input may be explicitly specified in an input model. Examples of input models are formal grammars, file formats, GUI-models, and network protocols.
Indeed, the buffer overflow security hole is an example of the problems caused. To remedy input kludges, one may use input validation algorithms to handle user input. A monkey test can be used to detect an input kludge problem. A common first test to discover this problem is to roll one's hand across the computer keyboard or to 'mash' the ...
Following the flow of data between all the components of an application or group of applications allows validation of required calls to dedicated procedures for sanitization and that proper actions are taken to taint data in specific pieces of code. [12] [13]
Software validation checks that the software product satisfies or fits the intended use (high-level checking), i.e., the software meets the user requirements, not as specification artifacts or as needs of those who will operate the software only; but, as the needs of all the stakeholders (such as users, operators, administrators, managers ...
The Challenge of Multilevel Security gives an example of a sanitization failure caused by unexpected behavior in Microsoft Word's change tracking feature. [ 7 ] The two most common mistakes for incorrectly redacting a document are adding an image layer over the sensitive text to obscure it, without removing the underlying text, and setting the ...