Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-362

Allowed-with-Review

Concurrent Execution using Shared Resource with Improper Synchronization ('Race Condition')

Abstraction: Class · Status: Draft

The product contains a concurrent code sequence that requires temporary, exclusive access to a shared resource, but a timing window exists in which the shared resource can be modified by another code sequence operating concurrently.

2899 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.

GHSA-W5R5-J976-GW6F

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 19:17 – Updated: 2022-05-24 19:17
VLAI
Details

An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability combined with a Race Condition in the flow daemon (flowd) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX300 Series, SRX500 Series, SRX1500, and SRX5000 Series with SPC2 allows an unauthenticated network based attacker sending specific traffic to cause a crash of the flowd/srxpfe process, responsible for traffic forwarding in SRX, which will cause a Denial of Service (DoS). Continued receipt and processing of this specific traffic will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue can only occur when specific packets are trying to create the same session and logging for session-close is configured as a policy action. Affected platforms are: SRX300 Series, SRX500 Series, SRX1500, and SRX5000 Series with SPC2. Not affected platforms are: SRX4000 Series, SRX5000 Series with SPC3, and vSRX Series. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS SRX300 Series, SRX500 Series, SRX1500, and SRX5000 Series with SPC2: All versions prior to 17.4R3-S5; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R3-S9; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S6; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S7, 19.2R3-S2; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S6, 19.3R3-S2; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R1-S4, 19.4R3-S3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2-S2, 20.1R3; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R2-S1, 20.3R3; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R2.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2021-31364"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2021-10-19T19:15:00Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability combined with a Race Condition in the flow daemon (flowd) of Juniper Networks Junos OS on SRX300 Series, SRX500 Series, SRX1500, and SRX5000 Series with SPC2 allows an unauthenticated network based attacker sending specific traffic to cause a crash of the flowd/srxpfe process, responsible for traffic forwarding in SRX, which will cause a Denial of Service (DoS). Continued receipt and processing of this specific traffic will create a sustained Denial of Service (DoS) condition. This issue can only occur when specific packets are trying to create the same session and logging for session-close is configured as a policy action. Affected platforms are: SRX300 Series, SRX500 Series, SRX1500, and SRX5000 Series with SPC2. Not affected platforms are: SRX4000 Series, SRX5000 Series with SPC3, and vSRX Series. This issue affects Juniper Networks Junos OS SRX300 Series, SRX500 Series, SRX1500, and SRX5000 Series with SPC2: All versions prior to 17.4R3-S5; 18.3 versions prior to 18.3R3-S5; 18.4 versions prior to 18.4R3-S9; 19.1 versions prior to 19.1R3-S6; 19.2 versions prior to 19.2R1-S7, 19.2R3-S2; 19.3 versions prior to 19.3R2-S6, 19.3R3-S2; 19.4 versions prior to 19.4R1-S4, 19.4R3-S3; 20.1 versions prior to 20.1R2-S2, 20.1R3; 20.2 versions prior to 20.2R3; 20.3 versions prior to 20.3R2-S1, 20.3R3; 20.4 versions prior to 20.4R2.",
  "id": "GHSA-w5r5-j976-gw6f",
  "modified": "2022-05-24T19:17:52Z",
  "published": "2022-05-24T19:17:52Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31364"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://kb.juniper.net/JSA11226"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": []
}

GHSA-W5RF-7QR8-HM2M

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-03-25 03:31 – Updated: 2026-03-25 15:31
VLAI
Details

A race condition was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-28891"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-03-25T01:17:12Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "A race condition was addressed with additional validation. This issue is fixed in macOS Sequoia 15.7.5, macOS Sonoma 14.8.5, macOS Tahoe 26.4. An app may be able to break out of its sandbox.",
  "id": "GHSA-w5rf-7qr8-hm2m",
  "modified": "2026-03-25T15:31:28Z",
  "published": "2026-03-25T03:31:32Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-28891"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/126794"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/126795"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://support.apple.com/en-us/126796"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-W5VG-49MG-6CXX

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2024-04-19 18:31 – Updated: 2024-04-19 18:31
VLAI
Details

A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in COVESA vsomeip up to 3.4.10. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. The manipulation leads to race condition. An attack has to be approached locally. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-261596.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2024-3979"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2024-04-19T18:15:08Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "A vulnerability, which was classified as problematic, has been found in COVESA vsomeip up to 3.4.10. Affected by this issue is some unknown functionality. The manipulation leads to race condition. An attack has to be approached locally. The exploit has been disclosed to the public and may be used. The identifier of this vulnerability is VDB-261596.",
  "id": "GHSA-w5vg-49mg-6cxx",
  "modified": "2024-04-19T18:31:16Z",
  "published": "2024-04-19T18:31:15Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-3979"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/COVESA/vsomeip/issues/663"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/COVESA/vsomeip/files/14904610/details.zip"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?ctiid.261596"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?id.261596"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://vuldb.com/?submit.312410"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-W637-MWV9-MCHJ

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-05-30 00:30 – Updated: 2026-05-30 00:30
VLAI
Details

A race condition in the shared Extreme Platform ONE IAM Gateway API-key authentication path could, under specific high-concurrency traffic conditions, intermittently allow requests authenticated with an Extreme Platform ONE /IAM-issued API key to receive response data for another tenant. The issue was observed through ExtremeCloud IQ/XIQ API endpoints and validated against both XIQ/XAPI and Extreme Platform ONE /Common Services API paths. XIQ-native tokens and standard OAuth/Bearer JWT authentication were not affected.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2026-9831"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2026-05-29T22:16:23Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "A race condition in the shared Extreme Platform\nONE IAM Gateway API-key authentication path could, under specific\nhigh-concurrency traffic conditions, intermittently allow requests\nauthenticated with an Extreme Platform ONE /IAM-issued API key to receive\nresponse data for another tenant. The issue was observed through ExtremeCloud\nIQ/XIQ API endpoints and validated against both XIQ/XAPI and Extreme Platform ONE\n/Common Services API paths. XIQ-native tokens and standard OAuth/Bearer JWT\nauthentication were not affected.",
  "id": "GHSA-w637-mwv9-mchj",
  "modified": "2026-05-30T00:30:31Z",
  "published": "2026-05-30T00:30:31Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-9831"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://community.extremenetworks.com/t5/security-advisories-formerly/sa-2026-048-extremecloud-iq-cross-tenant-data-exposure-via/ba-p/121851"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:N/A:N",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-W65J-G6C7-G3M4

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2021-08-25 20:42 – Updated: 2026-06-09 10:46
VLAI
Summary
Multiple memory safety issues in actix-web
Details

Affected versions contain multiple memory safety issues, such as:

  • Unsoundly coercing immutable references to mutable references
  • Unsoundly extending lifetimes of strings
  • Adding the Send marker trait to objects that cannot be safely sent between threads

This may result in a variety of memory corruption scenarios, most likely use-after-free.

A signficant refactoring effort has been conducted to resolve these issues.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [
    {
      "package": {
        "ecosystem": "crates.io",
        "name": "actix-web"
      },
      "ranges": [
        {
          "events": [
            {
              "introduced": "0"
            },
            {
              "fixed": "0.7.19"
            }
          ],
          "type": "ECOSYSTEM"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "aliases": [],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": true,
    "github_reviewed_at": "2021-08-24T19:13:30Z",
    "nvd_published_at": null,
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "Affected versions contain multiple memory safety issues, such as:\n\n - Unsoundly coercing immutable references to mutable references\n - Unsoundly extending lifetimes of strings\n - Adding the `Send` marker trait to objects that cannot be safely sent between threads\n\nThis may result in a variety of memory corruption scenarios, most likely use-after-free.\n \nA signficant refactoring effort has been conducted to resolve these issues.",
  "id": "GHSA-w65j-g6c7-g3m4",
  "modified": "2026-06-09T10:46:24Z",
  "published": "2021-08-25T20:42:50Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://github.com/actix/actix-web/issues/289"
    },
    {
      "type": "PACKAGE",
      "url": "https://github.com/actix/actix-web"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://rustsec.org/advisories/RUSTSEC-2018-0019.html"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [],
  "summary": "Multiple memory safety issues in actix-web"
}

GHSA-W6P8-9W8X-8Q7G

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-03-10 00:00 – Updated: 2022-03-17 00:02
VLAI
Details

Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2022-24525"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2022-03-09T17:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "Windows Update Stack Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability.",
  "id": "GHSA-w6p8-9w8x-8q7g",
  "modified": "2022-03-17T00:02:11Z",
  "published": "2022-03-10T00:00:31Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-24525"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2022-24525"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://portal.msrc.microsoft.com/en-US/security-guidance/advisory/CVE-2022-24525"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-W6QF-5W3X-WJ7F

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-04-22 00:24 – Updated: 2022-04-22 00:24
VLAI
Details

FreeBSD's crontab calculates the MD5 sum of the previous and new cronjob to determine if any changes have been made before copying the new version in. In particular, it uses the MD5File() function, which takes a pathname as an argument, and is called with euid 0. A race condition in this process may lead to an arbitrary MD5 comparison regardless of the read permissions.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2011-1075"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2021-10-19T15:15:00Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "FreeBSD\u0027s crontab calculates the MD5 sum of the previous and new cronjob to determine if any changes have been made before copying the new version in. In particular, it uses the MD5File() function, which takes a pathname as an argument, and is called with euid 0. A race condition in this process may lead to an arbitrary MD5 comparison regardless of the read permissions.",
  "id": "GHSA-w6qf-5w3x-wj7f",
  "modified": "2022-04-22T00:24:28Z",
  "published": "2022-04-22T00:24:28Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2011-1075"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://marc.info/?l=full-disclosure\u0026m=129891323028897\u0026w=2"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211125-0004"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2011/02/28/14"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": []
}

GHSA-W749-QFXR-R5V8

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 19:13 – Updated: 2022-05-24 19:13
VLAI
Details

A race condition was discovered in ext4_write_inline_data_end in fs/ext4/inline.c in the ext4 subsystem in the Linux kernel through 5.13.13.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2021-40490"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2021-09-03T01:15:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "A race condition was discovered in ext4_write_inline_data_end in fs/ext4/inline.c in the ext4 subsystem in the Linux kernel through 5.13.13.",
  "id": "GHSA-w749-qfxr-r5v8",
  "modified": "2022-05-24T19:13:00Z",
  "published": "2022-05-24T19:13:00Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-40490"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/kernel/git/tytso/ext4.git/commit/?id=9e445093e523f3277081314c864f708fd4bd34aa"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/10/msg00010.html"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://lists.debian.org/debian-lts-announce/2021/12/msg00012.html"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/M6VS2DLGT7TK7URKAS2KWJL3S533SGVA"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://lists.fedoraproject.org/archives/list/package-announce@lists.fedoraproject.org/message/XJGX3DMJT6MRBW2XEF3TWVHYWZW3DG3N"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20211004-0001"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://www.debian.org/security/2021/dsa-4978"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-W74H-MHGG-JVC9

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-14 03:46 – Updated: 2022-05-14 03:46
VLAI
Details

In the OMXNodeInstance::useBuffer and IOMX::freeBuffer functions, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition if the user frees the buffer while it's being used in another thread. This could lead to a local elevation of privilege enabling code execution as a privileged process with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Product: Android. Versions: 8.1. Android ID: A-38118127.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2017-13183"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2018-01-12T23:29:00Z",
    "severity": "HIGH"
  },
  "details": "In the OMXNodeInstance::useBuffer and IOMX::freeBuffer functions, there is a possible use after free due to a race condition if the user frees the buffer while it\u0027s being used in another thread. This could lead to a local elevation of privilege enabling code execution as a privileged process with no additional execution privileges needed. User interaction is needed for exploitation. Product: Android. Versions: 8.1. Android ID: A-38118127.",
  "id": "GHSA-w74h-mhgg-jvc9",
  "modified": "2022-05-14T03:46:39Z",
  "published": "2022-05-14T03:46:39Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-13183"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://source.android.com/security/bulletin/2018-01-01"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/102421"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "http://www.securitytracker.com/id/1040106"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:H/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

GHSA-W74R-W7JP-RC8W

Vulnerability from github – Published: 2025-09-09 18:31 – Updated: 2025-09-09 18:31
VLAI
Details

Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization ('race condition') in Graphics Kernel allows an authorized attacker to execute code locally.

Show details on source website

{
  "affected": [],
  "aliases": [
    "CVE-2025-55226"
  ],
  "database_specific": {
    "cwe_ids": [
      "CWE-362"
    ],
    "github_reviewed": false,
    "github_reviewed_at": null,
    "nvd_published_at": "2025-09-09T17:16:05Z",
    "severity": "MODERATE"
  },
  "details": "Concurrent execution using shared resource with improper synchronization (\u0027race condition\u0027) in Graphics Kernel allows an authorized attacker to execute code locally.",
  "id": "GHSA-w74r-w7jp-rc8w",
  "modified": "2025-09-09T18:31:23Z",
  "published": "2025-09-09T18:31:23Z",
  "references": [
    {
      "type": "ADVISORY",
      "url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-55226"
    },
    {
      "type": "WEB",
      "url": "https://msrc.microsoft.com/update-guide/vulnerability/CVE-2025-55226"
    }
  ],
  "schema_version": "1.4.0",
  "severity": [
    {
      "score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
      "type": "CVSS_V3"
    }
  ]
}

Mitigation
Architecture and Design

In languages that support it, use synchronization primitives. Only wrap these around critical code to minimize the impact on performance.

Mitigation
Architecture and Design

Use thread-safe capabilities such as the data access abstraction in Spring.

Mitigation
Architecture and Design
  • Minimize the usage of shared resources in order to remove as much complexity as possible from the control flow and to reduce the likelihood of unexpected conditions occurring.
  • Additionally, this will minimize the amount of synchronization necessary and may even help to reduce the likelihood of a denial of service where an attacker may be able to repeatedly trigger a critical section (CWE-400).
Mitigation
Implementation

When using multithreading and operating on shared variables, only use thread-safe functions.

Mitigation
Implementation

Use atomic operations on shared variables. Be wary of innocent-looking constructs such as "x++". This may appear atomic at the code layer, but it is actually non-atomic at the instruction layer, since it involves a read, followed by a computation, followed by a write.

Mitigation
Implementation

Use a mutex if available, but be sure to avoid related weaknesses such as CWE-412.

Mitigation
Implementation

Avoid double-checked locking (CWE-609) and other implementation errors that arise when trying to avoid the overhead of synchronization.

Mitigation
Implementation

Disable interrupts or signals over critical parts of the code, but also make sure that the code does not go into a large or infinite loop.

Mitigation
Implementation

Use the volatile type modifier for critical variables to avoid unexpected compiler optimization or reordering. This does not necessarily solve the synchronization problem, but it can help.

Mitigation MIT-17
Architecture and Design Operation

Strategy: Environment Hardening

Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks [REF-76]. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.

CAPEC-26: Leveraging Race Conditions

The adversary targets a race condition occurring when multiple processes access and manipulate the same resource concurrently, and the outcome of the execution depends on the particular order in which the access takes place. The adversary can leverage a race condition by "running the race", modifying the resource and modifying the normal execution flow. For instance, a race condition can occur while accessing a file: the adversary can trick the system by replacing the original file with their version and cause the system to read the malicious file.

CAPEC-29: Leveraging Time-of-Check and Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) Race Conditions

This attack targets a race condition occurring between the time of check (state) for a resource and the time of use of a resource. A typical example is file access. The adversary can leverage a file access race condition by "running the race", meaning that they would modify the resource between the first time the target program accesses the file and the time the target program uses the file. During that period of time, the adversary could replace or modify the file, causing the application to behave unexpectedly.