|
| 1 | +*The C language and its biggest problem; proving its insecurity.* |
| 2 | +(Written by FlyWithMe - A Simplex chat user) |
| 3 | +# 2026 / 01 / 01 # |
| 4 | + |
| 5 | + |
| 6 | + C is not a safe language, although it is possible to create secure software with it. Regardless of the programmer's skill or the amount of code reviews performed, it is impossible, using C, to create software with perfect memory management. Although formally verified software is possible, it is almost non-existent; few examples can be found, such as the seL4 microkernel, the CompCert compiler, and the C compiler. |
| 7 | + |
| 8 | + The fact is that formal verification is extremely difficult and costly to perform, so it should not be considered a solution, but rather a remote possibility. |
| 9 | + |
| 10 | + And for those who mistakenly or arrogantly claim, out of ignorance or vanity, that these bugs and vulnerabilities caused by improper memory management are rare and obsolete, I present a factual and statistical analysis of the case. |
| 11 | + |
| 12 | + |
| 13 | + |
| 14 | +## Analysis: Memory Management Vulnerabilities in CVE (2015-2025) ## |
| 15 | + |
| 16 | +*Total Data:* |
| 17 | + |
| 18 | + Based on the CVEDetails.com database and NIST NVD data, all registered CVEs from 2015 to December 20, 2025[1][2][3] were analyzed. |
| 19 | + |
| 20 | +"Total CVEs analysed: 107,173" |
| 21 | + |
| 22 | + |
| 23 | +*Vulnerabilities of Memory Management:* |
| 24 | + |
| 25 | +Category: Overflow (buffer, stack). Total CVEs: 15,882 |
| 26 | +Category: Memory Corruption (heap, use-after-free, out-of-bounds). Total CVEs: 20,777 . |
| 27 | +Total: 36,659 |
| 28 | + |
| 29 | + |
| 30 | +*Percentage of Memory Management Vulnerabilities* |
| 31 | + |
| 32 | +36,659 ÷ 107,173 × 100 = *34.20%* |
| 33 | + |
| 34 | + |
| 35 | + Therefore, 34.20% of all software vulnerabilities registered between 2015 and 2025 are related to memory management errors (buffer overflows, heap overflows, use-after-free, out-of-bounds reads/writes)[1][2]. |
| 36 | + |
| 37 | + |
| 38 | +*Distribution by Year* |
| 39 | + |
| 40 | +The annual analysis reveals significant fluctuations: |
| 41 | + |
| 42 | +| Year | Memory Vulnerabilities | Total CVEs | Percentage | |
| 43 | +|---------------------------------------------------------| |
| 44 | +| 2015 | 1,436 | 3,758 | 38.22% | |
| 45 | +| 2016 | 1,514 | 3,355 | 45.13% | |
| 46 | +| 2017 | 4,011 | 10,458 | 38.35% | |
| 47 | +| 2018 | 3,808 | 10,644 | 35.74% | |
| 48 | +| 2019 | 3,209 | 9,081 | 35.35% | |
| 49 | +| 2020 | 3,066 | 8,248 | 37.18% | |
| 50 | +| 2021 | 4,184 | 10,414 | 40.18% | |
| 51 | +| 2022 | 4,685 | 12,198 | 38.39% | |
| 52 | +| 2023 | 3,741 | 12,568 | 29.76% | |
| 53 | +| 2024 | 4,171 | 15,377 | 27.12% | |
| 54 | +| 2025 | 2,834 | 11,478 | 24.68% | |
| 55 | +|---------------------------------------------------------| |
| 56 | + |
| 57 | +# Important context |
| 58 | + It is important to note that this overall proportion of 34.20% varies significantly depending on the type of software and programming language: |
| 59 | + |
| 60 | + |
| 61 | +*For compiled code in C/C++: The ratio rises to 66-75%[4][5][6][7]. Studies of large organizations confirm:* |
| 62 | + |
| 63 | +- "Microsoft": 70% of CVEs are related to memory management[4][6] |
| 64 | +- "Google": 70% of bugs in Chromium are memory; 90% on Android[8][4][9] |
| 65 | +- Apple: 60-70% of vulnerabilities in iOS and macOS[9] |
| 66 | +- Linux Kernel: 66% of vulnerabilities[5] |
| 67 | +- "Project Zero (Google)": 75% of the CVEs exploited in the wild world were from memory; 67% of zero-days in 2021[10][7] |
| 68 | + |
| 69 | +*"For memory-safe languages" (Java, Python, C#): The proportion is less than 5%.* |
| 70 | + |
| 71 | +# Temporal trend |
| 72 | + |
| 73 | + The above trend chart shows that while the "absolute number" of memory vulnerabilities remains high, the "relative percentage" has decreased from approximately 38-45% (2015-2016) to 24-29% (2024-2025). This is because other categories of vulnerabilities (particularly XSS, which grew to 31.18% of the total) are increasing faster[1][2]. |
| 74 | + |
| 75 | + |
| 76 | +# *Conclusion* |
| 77 | + |
| 78 | + Of the "107.173 software vulnerabilities" registered between 2015 and 2025, "36,659 (34.20%) are related to memory management errors". This global percentage hides the most worrying reality: in compiled software that dominates critical infrastructures (C/C++), approximately 2 in 3 vulnerabilities (66-70%) are caused by memory management errors, reinforcing the ongoing appeals of CISA, NSA and other agencies for the adoption of memory-safe languages[5][6][7]. |
| 79 | + |
| 80 | + |
| 81 | +References: |
| 82 | +[1] Types of Memory Safety Vulnerabilities & How to Address ... https://runsafesecurity.com/blog/memory-safety-vulnerabilities/ |
| 83 | +[2] 99 of the most popular cybersecurity vulnerabilities & ... https://www.hackthebox.com/blog/most-popular-cybersecurity-vulnerabilities-and-exploits-from-2022 |
| 84 | +[3] CVE Threat Database | Real-Time Security Insights https://cve.akaoma.com |
| 85 | +[4] Microsoft: 70 percent of all security bugs are memory safety ... https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-70-percent-of-all-security-bugs-are-memory-safety-issues/ |
| 86 | +[5] Global security agencies push for memory safe roadmaps ... https://industrialcyber.co/cisa/global-security-agencies-push-for-memory-safe-roadmaps-to-address-software-vulnerabilities-boost-cybersecurity/ |
| 87 | +[6] NSA Releases Guidance on How to Protect Against ... https://www.nsa.gov/Press-Room/News-Highlights/Article/Article/3215760/nsa-releases-guidance-on-how-to-protect-against-software-memory-safety-issues/ |
| 88 | +[7] The Case for Memory Safe Roadmaps https://media.defense.gov/2023/Dec/06/2003352724/-1/-1/0/THE-CASE-FOR-MEMORY-SAFE-ROADMAPS-TLP-CLEAR.PDF |
| 89 | +[8] CISA, NSA repeat call for memory safe programming ... https://www.theregister.com/2025/06/27/cisa_nsa_call_formemory_safe_languages/ |
| 90 | +[9] Why Safe Programming Matters and Why a Language Like ... https://developer.okta.com/blog/2022/03/18/programming-security-and-why-rust |
| 91 | +[10] NSA, CISA guidance push for adoption of memory safe ... https://industrialcyber.co/secure-by-design/nsa-cisa-guidance-push-for-adoption-of-memory-safe-languages-in-software-development-to-boost-resilience/ |
| 92 | +[11] Analysis of a VB Script Heap Overflow (CVE-2019-0666) https://malwaretech.com/2019/04/analysis-of-a-vb-script-heap-overflow.html |
| 93 | +[12] Eliminating Memory Safety Vulnerabilities at the Source https://www.reddit.com/r/cpp/comments/1fpcc0p/eliminating_memory_safety_vulnerabilities_at_the/ |
| 94 | +[13] CVE-2023-0051 : Heap-based Buffer Overflow in GitHub ... https://www.cvedetails.com/cve/CVE-2023-0051/ |
| 95 | +[14] CVE security vulnerability database. Security vulnerabilities ... https://www.cvedetails.com |
| 96 | +[15] The Long Road to Safe RAM Handling https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/the-long-road-to-memory-safety/46511/ |
| 97 | +[16] Chrome Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities https://www.intertecsystems.com/threat-report-and-advisories/software-update-advisories/chrome-buffer-overflow-vulnerabilities-allow-arbitrary-code-execution/ |
| 98 | +[17] CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/andrewkronser/cve-common-vulnerabilities-and-exposures |
| 99 | +[18] CVE-2025-14174 Vulnerability: A New Memory Corruption ... https://socprime.com/blog/cve-2025-14174-vulnerability/ |
| 100 | +[19] Vulnerabilities Statistics 2025: CVE Surge & Exploit Speed https://deepstrike.io/blog/vulnerability-statistics-2025 |
| 101 | +[20] Discover CVE Statistics https://blog.opencve.io/posts/cve-statistics/ |
| 102 | +[21] 2025 Predictions for CVE Vulnerabilities Across the Web | Bitsight https://www.bitsight.com/blog/2025-predictions-for-cve-vulnerabilities |
| 103 | +[22] Announcing the Release of "The Memory Safety Continuum" https://openssf.org/blog/2025/04/28/announcing-the-release-of-the-memory-safety-continuum/ |
| 104 | +[23] A look Into The 1H-2025 Vulnerability Exploitation & Threat Activity https://www.vulncheck.com/blog/state-of-exploitation-1h-2025 |
| 105 | +[24] Metrics https://www.cve.org/about/Metrics |
| 106 | +[25] Exploitation Statistics https://securelist.com/vulnerabilities-and-exploits-in-q2-2025/117333/ |
| 107 | +[26] Classifying Memory Bugs Using Bugs Framework Approach https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=930038 |
| 108 | +[27] Multiple vulnerabilities in Dell EMC Unity Family https://www.cybersecurity-help.cz/vdb/SB2022110933 |
| 109 | +[28] Microsoft: 70 percent of all security bugs are memory safety ... https://www.reddit.com/r/cpp/comments/aprgkf/microsoft_70_percent_of_all_security_bugs_are/ |
| 110 | +[29] CWE 119 Improper Restriction of Operations within the ... https://www.cvedetails.com/cwe-details/119/Improper-Restriction-of-Operations-within-the-Bounds-of-a-Me.html |
| 111 | +[30] Defending Against Memory Corruption Attacks in C-Based ... https://www.appsecengineer.com/blog/defending-against-memory-corruption-attacks-in-c-based-applications |
| 112 | +[31] OWASP Top 10 Prediction | 2025 https://tcm-sec.com/owasp-top-10-prediction-2025/ |
| 113 | +[32] LLM-CSEC: Empirical Evaluation of Security in C/C++ ... https://arxiv.org/html/2511.18966v1 |
| 114 | +[33] Memory Safety KEVs Are Increasing Across Industries https://runsafesecurity.com/blog/memory-safety-kevs-increasing/ |
| 115 | +[34] The biggest source of vulnerabilities in cryptographic libraries is memory safety bugs, not cryptography bugs https://www.reddit.com/r/rust/comments/t33ddj/the_biggest_source_of_vulnerabilities_in/ |
| 116 | +[35] Top Cybersecurity Vulnerability Statistics https://zerothreat.ai/blog/cybersecurity-vulnerability-statistics |
| 117 | +[36] Vulnerability landscape analysis for Q4 2024 https://securelist.com/vulnerabilities-and-exploits-in-q4-2024/115761/ |
| 118 | +[37] CVE 100K: By The Numbers https://www.rapid7.com/blog/post/2018/04/30/cve-100k-by-the-numbers/ |
| 119 | +[38] May 2024 Threat Tracking: Global CVE Disclosures ... https://www.greenbone.net/en/blog/may-2024-threat-tracking-global-cve-disclosures-continue-to-heat-up/ |
| 120 | +[39] 2023 Vulnerability Statistics Report https://www.edgescan.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/2023-Vulnerability-Statistics-Report.pdf |
| 121 | +[40] CWE Over Time - NVD https://nvd.nist.gov/general/visualizations/vulnerability-visualizations/cwe-over-time |
| 122 | +[41] National Vulnerability Database - Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Vulnerability_Database |
| 123 | +[42] A guide to security technologies in Red Hat Enterprise Linux https://www.redhat.com/en/blog/guide-security-technologies-red-hat-enterprise-linux |
| 124 | +[43] Vulnerabilities, Cybersecurity, and the Role of Law and ... https://repub.eur.nl/pub/136974/thesis-Jian-Jiang.pdf |
| 125 | +[44] What is the National Vulnerability Database (NVD)? - Fortinet https://www.fortinet.com/lat/resources/cyberglossary/national-vulnerability-database-nvd |
| 126 | +[45] What is CI/CD security? https://www.harness.io/blog/ci-cd-security-an-overview |
| 127 | +[46] NVD stopped adding information on most CVEs since February https://www.reddit.com/r/sysadmin/comments/1bjelgw/nvd_stopped_adding_information_on_most_cves_since/ |
| 128 | +[47] CWE Version 4.16 - Mitre https://cwe.mitre.org/data/published/cwe_v4.16.pdf |
| 129 | +[48] An Empirical Analysis of Vulnerabilities in Cryptographic ... https://dspace.mit.edu/bitstream/handle/1721.1/155457/3634737.3657012.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |
| 130 | +[49] Automated Exploitable Heap Layout Generation for ... https://www.usenix.org/system/files/sec23fall-prepub-581-zhang-bin.pdf |
| 131 | +[50] QuickSafe: Targeted Hardening Against Memory Corruption https://download.vusec.net/papers/quicksafe_sp26.pdf |
| 132 | +[51] CWE-122: Heap-based Buffer Overflow https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/122.html |
| 133 | +[52] Microsoft: 70 percent of all security bugs are memory safety ... https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/apm5g6/microsoft_70_percent_of_all_security_bugs_are/ |
| 134 | +[53] A risk estimation study of native code vulnerabilities in Android ... https://academic.oup.com/cybersecurity/article/10/1/tyae015/7744932 |
| 135 | +[54] Getting to the Bottom of CVE-2018-0825 Heap Overflow ... https://www.keysight.com/blogs/en/tech/nwvs/2021/01/03/getting-to-the-bottom-of-cve-2018-0825-heap-overflow-buffer |
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| 138 | +[57] COMPOSITE BUDGET FOR 2025-2028 PROGRAMME ... https://mofep.gov.gh/sites/default/files/composite-budget/2025/BE/Techiman.pdf |
| 139 | +[58] The Secret Life of CVEs http://arxiv.org/pdf/2504.03863.pdf |
| 140 | +[59] CWE Statistics for Autodesk as of 11/20/2025 - NVD CNA Status https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/cvmap/report/21080 |
| 141 | +[60] Final Asset Management Plan https://www.thebluemountains.ca/sites/default/files/2022-01/Final-Asset-Management-Plan.pdf |
| 142 | +[61] arXiv:2107.04940v1 [cs.CR] 11 Jul 2021 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2107.04940.pdf |
| 143 | +[62] Vulnerabilities By Types/Categories https://www.cvedetails.com/vulnerabilities-by-types.php |
| 144 | +[63] E1972 v1 https://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/103491468023674784/pdf/E19720v10Repla10Sokhna0ESIA0P100047.pdf |
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