buffer overflow
buffer overflow noun: the event when the amount of data sought to be added to a buffer exceeds the size of the buffer; generally resulting in a catastrophic error if this case has not been anticipated.
Noun
buffer overflow (plural buffer overflows)
- The event when the amount of data sought to be added to a buffer exceeds the size of the buffer; generally resulting in a catastrophic error if this case has not been anticipated.
- When a program or process tries to store more data in a buffer than it was originally anticipated to hold, a buffer overflow occurs. What is really happening during a buffer overflow?2005, Gert De Laet, Gert Schauwers, Network Security Fundamentals, Cisco Press, →ISBN, page 28
- Synonyms:
- buffer overrun
Synonyms of buffer overflow
Forms of buffer overflow
| plural | buffer overflows |
|---|
Questions about buffer overflow
- What does buffer overflow mean?
- Buffer overflow means the event when the amount of data sought to be added to a buffer exceeds the size of the buffer; generally resulting in a catastrophic error if this case has not been anticipated.
- What part of speech is buffer overflow?
- Buffer overflow is a noun.
- What is the plural of buffer overflow?
- The plural of buffer overflow is buffer overflows.
Words near buffer overflow in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: buffer overflow (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this entry: “buffer overflow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/buffer_overflow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.