The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have issued a new Secure by Design Alert warning about the risks posed by buffer overflow vulnerabilities in software.
The alert, titled “Eliminating Buffer Overflow Vulnerabilities,” highlights the need for secure software development practices to prevent malicious actors from exploiting these weaknesses.
Buffer overflow vulnerabilities, a common flaw in software design, can be exploited to compromise systems, leading to data corruption, unauthorized code execution, program crashes, and sensitive information being exposed.
Threat actors often use these vulnerabilities as an entry point to infiltrate networks and move laterally across systems.
Prioritizing Security
To mitigate the risks, CISA and the FBI urge software manufacturers to adopt secure coding practices, including the use of memory-safe programming languages and Secure by Design principles.
Entities and software customers are also encouraged to insist on better security measures from vendors to make sure products are built with appropriate protections in place.
The alert is part of CISA’s ongoing Secure by Design Alert series, which promotes industry-wide best practices to eliminate entire classes of vulnerabilities at the development stage. CISA has also introduced a Secure by Design Pledge, a voluntary initiative aimed at encouraging enterprises to prioritize security in their software products and services, including cloud-based solutions and Software as a Service (SaaS).
No More Legacy Excuses
Saeed Abbasi, Manager Vulnerability Research at Qualys Threat Research Unit says legacy excuses are out; the world has zero tolerance for memory-unsafe code in 2025.
“Yes, rewriting old systems is daunting, but letting attackers exploit decades-old buffer overflows is worse. Organizations still clinging to unsafe languages risk turning minor vulnerabilities into massive breaches—and they can’t claim surprise. We’ve had proven fixes for ages: phased transitions to Rust or other memory-safe options, compiler-level safeguards, thorough adversarial testing, and public commitments to a secure-by-design roadmap.”
Abbasis says the question isn’t whether it’s possible to eradicate these vulnerabilities—plenty of forward-thinking teams already have. “The real challenge is collective will: leadership must demand memory-safe transitions, and software buyers must hold vendors accountable. Buffer overflows aren’t an inevitability; they’re a failure of priorities. It’s time to replace legacy inertia with decisive action.”
Information Security Buzz News Editor
Kirsten Doyle has been in the technology journalism and editing space for nearly 24 years, during which time she has developed a great love for all aspects of technology, as well as words themselves. Her experience spans B2B tech, with a lot of focus on cybersecurity, cloud, enterprise, digital transformation, and data centre. Her specialties are in news, thought leadership, features, white papers, and PR writing, and she is an experienced editor for both print and online publications.
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