Rust Memory Safety Examples

Educational examples demonstrating memory-safe programming patterns in Rust for financial systems and critical infrastructure. This repository provides clear, documented examples of how Rust eliminates entire classes of security vulnerabilities.

Purpose

This project demonstrates memory safety concepts for:

Software engineers learning Rust
Security professionals evaluating memory-safe languages
Financial institutions considering Rust for critical systems
Technical decision-makers assessing CISA/FBI 2024 guidance

Alignment with Federal Guidance

These examples directly address 2024 CISA/FBI guidance recommending memory-safe languages for critical infrastructure. Demonstrates how Rust eliminates 70% of security vulnerabilities found in C/C++ systems.

Vulnerabilities Prevented

1. Buffer Overflow (CWE-120)

C/C++ Risk: #1 cause of security vulnerabilities
Rust Solution: Bounds checking and ownership system
Example: buffer_overflow module

2. Use-After-Free (CWE-416)

C/C++ Risk: Leads to arbitrary code execution
Rust Solution: Ownership and lifetime tracking
Example: use_after_free module

3. Data Races (CWE-362)

C/C++ Risk: Undefined behavior in concurrent code
Rust Solution: Send/Sync traits and type system
Example: data_race module

4. Integer Overflow (CWE-190)

C/C++ Risk: Silent overflow causing logic errors
Rust Solution: Checked/saturating arithmetic
Example: integer_overflow module

5. Null Pointer Dereference (CWE-476)

C/C++ Risk: Crashes and security vulnerabilities
Rust Solution: Option type enforces null checking
Example: null_pointer module

Quick Start

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/guardsarm/rust-memory-safety-examples
cd rust-memory-safety-examples

# Run all examples
cargo test -- --nocapture

# Run specific examples
cargo run --example buffer_overflow_prevention
cargo run --example use_after_free_prevention
cargo run --example data_race_prevention

Examples

Buffer Overflow Prevention

use rust_memory_safety_examples::buffer_overflow;

// C/C++ code (UNSAFE):
// char buffer[10];
// strcpy(buffer, "This is way too long"); // Buffer overflow!

// Rust equivalent (SAFE):
let data = vec![1, 2, 3, 4, 5];
if let Some(&value) = data.get(10) {
    println!("Value: {}", value);
} else {
    println!("Index out of bounds - safely handled!");
}

Use-After-Free Prevention

use rust_memory_safety_examples::use_after_free;

// C/C++ code (UNSAFE):
// int* ptr;
// {
//     int x = 42;
//     ptr = &x;
// }
// printf("%d", *ptr); // Use-after-free!

// Rust equivalent (SAFE - won't compile):
// let ptr: &i32;
// {
//     let x = 42;
//     ptr = &x; // ERROR: `x` does not live long enough
// }

Data Race Prevention

use rust_memory_safety_examples::data_race;
use std::sync::{Arc, Mutex};

// Safe concurrent access
let counter = Arc::new(Mutex::new(0));
let mut handles = vec![];

for _ in 0..10 {
    let counter_clone = Arc::clone(&counter);
    let handle = std::thread::spawn(move || {
        let mut num = counter_clone.lock().unwrap();
        *num += 1;
    });
    handles.push(handle);
}

// No data races possible!

Educational Value

For Software Engineers

Learn memory safety concepts through practical examples
Understand ownership, borrowing, and lifetimes
See direct comparisons between C/C++ vulnerabilities and Rust solutions

For Security Professionals

Understand how Rust prevents common exploitation techniques
Evaluate memory-safe languages for security-critical systems
Assess compliance with CISA/FBI guidance

For Technical Managers

Understand business value of memory safety
Evaluate risk reduction from adopting Rust
Make informed decisions about technology migration

Use Cases in Financial Systems

Banking Systems

Prevent buffer overflows in transaction processing
Eliminate use-after-free in session management
Prevent data races in concurrent operations

Payment Processors

Safe string handling for card data
Memory-safe cryptographic implementations
Race-free concurrent payment processing

Forex Trading Platforms

Safe handling of market data feeds
Memory-safe order processing
Thread-safe account management

Security Impact

CVEs Prevented by Memory Safety

Common vulnerabilities that cannot occur in safe Rust:

CVE-2014-0160 (Heartbleed) - Buffer overflow
CVE-2017-5754 (Meltdown) - Memory safety issue
CVE-2018-4878 (Use-after-free in browsers)
Countless race conditions in concurrent systems

Microsoft Security Data

Microsoft research shows:

70% of security vulnerabilities are memory safety issues
Rust eliminates this entire class of vulnerabilities
Significant reduction in security incidents

Testing

# Run all tests
cargo test

# Run tests with output
cargo test -- --nocapture

# Run specific module tests
cargo test buffer_overflow
cargo test use_after_free
cargo test data_race

Documentation

# Generate and open documentation
cargo doc --open

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file

Author

Tony Chuks Awunor

Former FINMA-regulated forex broker operator (2008-2013)
M.S. Computer Science (CGPA: 4.52/5.00)
EC-Council Certified SOC Analyst (CSA)
Specialization: Memory-safe systems programming for financial infrastructure

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please open an issue or pull request with:

Additional memory safety examples
Real-world vulnerability comparisons
Educational improvements

Citation

If you use these examples in educational or research contexts, please cite:

Awunor, T.C. (2024). Rust Memory Safety Examples: Educational Demonstrations
of Memory-Safe Programming. https://github.com/guardsarm/rust-memory-safety-examples

References

Related Projects

rust-secure-logger - Secure logging implementation
rust-crypto-utils - Memory-safe cryptography
rust-transaction-validator - Safe transaction processing

Educational. Practical. Memory-safe. Implemented in Rust.

rust-memory-safety-examples 0.1.0