CWE-835

Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')

Weakness Description

The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.

Common Consequences

Availability
DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU)DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory)DoS: Amplification

An infinite loop will cause unexpected consumption of resources, such as CPU cycles or memory. The software's operation may slow down, or cause a long time to respond.

Detection Methods

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)

Effectiveness: High

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