# Use After Free
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## Basic Information
As the name implies, this vulnerability occurs when a program **stores some space** in the heap for an object, **writes** some info there, **frees** it apparently because it's not needed anymore and then **accesses it again**.
The problem here is that it's not ilegal (there **won't be errors**) when a **freed memory is accessed**. So, if the program (or the attacker) managed to **allocate the freed memory and store arbitrary data**, when the freed memory is accessed from the initial pointer that **data would be have been overwritten** causing a **vulnerability that will depends on the sensitivity of the data** that was stored original (if it was a pointer of a function that was going to be be called, an attacker could know control it).
### First Fit attack
A first fit attack targets the way some memory allocators, like in glibc, manage freed memory. When you free a block of memory, it gets added to a list, and new memory requests pull from that list from the end. Attackers can use this behavior to manipulate **which memory blocks get reused, potentially gaining control over them**. This can lead to "use-after-free" issues, where an attacker could **change the contents of memory that gets reallocated**, creating a security risk.\
Check more info in:
{% content-ref url="/pages/OJyZ9ZjltCd8HD6jOpl5" %}
[First Fit](/hacktricks/binary-exploitation/libc-heap/use-after-free/first-fit.md)
{% endcontent-ref %}
{% hint style="success" %}
Learn & practice AWS Hacking:[**HackTricks Training AWS Red Team Expert (ARTE)**](https://training.hacktricks.xyz/courses/arte)\
Learn & practice GCP Hacking: [**HackTricks Training GCP Red Team Expert (GRTE)**](https://training.hacktricks.xyz/courses/grte)
Support HackTricks
* Check the [**subscription plans**](https://github.com/sponsors/carlospolop)!
* **Join the** 💬 [**Discord group**](https://discord.gg/hRep4RUj7f) or the [**telegram group**](https://t.me/peass) or **follow** us on **Twitter** 🐦 [**@hacktricks\_live**](https://twitter.com/hacktricks_live)**.**
* **Share hacking tricks by submitting PRs to the** [**HackTricks**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks) and [**HackTricks Cloud**](https://github.com/carlospolop/hacktricks-cloud) github repos.
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