The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have issued a stark warning to software manufacturers: buffer overflow vulnerabilities remain a persistent and unacceptable security risk. The latest Secure by Design alert underscores the critical need for developers to adopt memory-safe programming languages and implement proven security measures before their software reaches the public.
Buffer overflow vulnerabilities—categorized as CWE-119—occur when software improperly handles memory allocation, allowing attackers to overwrite memory buffers and execute arbitrary code. These vulnerabilities have been at the root of numerous high-profile cyberattacks, enabling hackers to escalate privileges, crash systems, or gain unauthorized access to sensitive data.
The Security Risks of Buffer Overflows
Chris Wysopal, Founder and Chief Security Evangelist at Veracode, highlights the severity of these vulnerabilities:
"Buffer overflow can lead to severe security breaches, including remote code execution, privilege escalation, and denial of service. Buffer overflows are common in software written in the C or C++ programming languages because those languages require the developer to be perfect in managing memory, which is difficult to do.Because identifying and fixing all areas of code that contain buffer overflow vulnerabilities is so challenging, developers have implemented several mitigation strategies and approaches. These include compiler and runtime defenses that make exploitation more difficult, as well as sandboxing techniques – such as those used in modern browsers – to prevent access to the entire system and limit the impact of successful exploits. Additionally, some developers choose to rewrite portions or entire programs in memory-managed languages like Rust, Go, or Swift."
Despite the availability of well-documented security measures, CISA and the FBI remain concerned about the continued reliance on outdated and unsafe programming practices. They have labeled buffer overflow vulnerabilities as “unforgivable defects,” urging the industry to eliminate them proactively rather than relying on reactive patches.
A Call for Secure by Design Practices
CISA and the FBI are not merely recommending incremental security improvements—they are demanding a fundamental shift in how software is designed. The Secure by Design initiative calls on manufacturers to:
Adopt memory-safe programming languages such as Rust, Go, or Swift to eliminate entire classes of memory safety vulnerabilities.
Implement compiler and runtime protections that detect and mitigate buffer overflow risks before attackers can exploit them.
Conduct thorough security testing, including fuzzing, static analysis, and adversarial testing, to identify vulnerabilities before they reach customers.
Provide transparency through a Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) to help customers assess software security risks.
Publish memory safety roadmaps, demonstrating a commitment to phasing out unsafe code over time.
The Economics of Security: Why Prevention Pays Off
For software manufacturers, shifting to memory-safe languages may seem like an expensive undertaking, but the long-term cost savings are significant. Google, for instance, transitioned Android development to memory-safe languages in 2019 after determining that fixing vulnerabilities in unsafe codebases was far more costly than preventing them in the first place. Microsoft, AWS, and Mozilla have also championed memory-safe languages as a core part of their security strategies.
The alternative—continuing to rely on C and C++ for critical applications—leaves organizations vulnerable to catastrophic breaches. The continued exploitation of buffer overflow vulnerabilities underscores that patching alone is not a sustainable solution. Manufacturers that fail to take action risk not only their customers’ security but also their reputations and potential legal ramifications.
What This Means for Software Customers
Enterprises, government agencies, and individual consumers must demand software that is secure by design. This means:
Before procurement: Asking vendors how they ensure software security and whether they use memory-safe languages.
During procurement: Requiring secure coding practices in contracts and service agreements.
After procurement: Regularly evaluating software security posture and holding vendors accountable for vulnerabilities.
As cyber threats grow more sophisticated, security must be a foundational principle of software development—not an afterthought. CISA’s Secure by Design alert makes it clear: the time for voluntary best practices has passed. The future of software security depends on eliminating systemic risks like buffer overflows at their source. The question is no longer whether manufacturers should act—it’s whether they can afford not to.