overrun screw

overrun screw

A variety of fandango on core produced by a C programscribbling past the end of an array (C implementationstypically have no checks for this error). This is relativelybenign and easy to spot if the array is static; if it isauto, the result may be to smash the stack - oftenresulting in heisenbugs of the most diabolical subtlety.The term "overrun screw" is used especially of scribblesbeyond the end of arrays allocated with malloc; thistypically overwrites the allocation header for the next blockin the arena, producing massive lossage within malloc andoften a core dump on the next operation to use stdio ormalloc itself.

See spam, overrun; see also memory leak, memory smash,aliasing bug, precedence lossage, fandango on core,secondary damage.