System and method for protection from buffer overflow vulnerability due to placement new constructs in C++

An article of manufacture comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising program code tangibly embodied thereon, which when executed by a computer, performs method steps for protecting from buffer overflow vulnerability due to placement new constructs, the method steps comprising:

• determining whether an instruction in a program is a placement new instruction which would result in an object overwriting contents in a memory area;
• and
• selecting a method for preventing buffer overflow if it is determined that the instruction is the placement new instruction which would result in the object overwriting the contents in the memory area;
• wherein the selection of the method is based on at least one predetermined policy;
• wherein the method is selected from at least first and second methods;
• wherein the first method takes into consideration that a given execution of the program will not reach all parts of the object and comprises:
• populating a portion of the memory area allocated by the placement new instruction with less than a total of the object;
• and
• populating a remaining space of the memory area originally allocated to a remaining portion of the total of the object with a first handler routine;
• and
• wherein the second method comprises:
• allocating portions of the object to respective memory regions, wherein the respective memory regions are in different systems;
• and
• invoking a second handler routine if enough free space is not available to accommodate the total of the object.

An apparatus for protecting from buffer overflow vulnerability due to placement new constructs, comprising:

• a memory;
• and
• a processor coupled to the memory and configured to execute code stored in the memory for:
• determining whether an instruction in a program is a placement new instruction which would result in an object overwriting contents in a memory area, wherein a size of the object is measured from a memory address allocated by the placement new instruction to determine if the object extends into a portion of the memory area where the contents are located;
• and
• selecting a method for preventing buffer overflow if it is determined that the instruction is the placement new instruction which would result in the object overwriting the contents in the memory area;
• wherein the selection of the method is based on at least one predetermined policy;
• wherein the method is selected from at least first and second methods;
• wherein the first method takes into consideration that a given execution of the program will not reach all parts of the object and comprises:
• populating a portion of the memory area allocated by the placement new instruction with less than a total of the object;
• and
• populating a remaining space of the memory area originally allocated to a remaining portion of the total of the object with a first handler routine;
• and
• wherein the second method comprises:
• allocating portions of the object to respective memory regions, wherein the respective memory regions are in different systems;
• and
• invoking a second handler routine if enough free space is not available to accommodate the total of the object.