LAB 348 – Defending C++ Applications Against Null Pointer Dereference (NEW)

Course Overview

A Null Pointer Dereference vulnerability occurs when an application attempts to use a pointer with a null value due to some user-controlled action. Most commonly, null pointer dereference results in application crashes, but the potential impact of a null pointer dereference vulnerability depends on the programming language used. For code written in unmanaged programming languages, null pointer dereference can potentially result in arbitrary code execution, though that is a relatively uncommon possibility. More commonly, null pointer dereference will result in application crashes.

This Skill Lab provides a virtual environment that contains a vulnerable application with its complete source code for training developers to identify and remediate Null Pointer Dereference vulnerabilities.

In this lab, the learner will receive hands-on experience testing for a Null Pointer Dereference vulnerability and implementing an appropriate mitigation. The typical solution is to validate pointers before using them.