A memory-safety vulnerability is a software bug that breaks the rules for reading, writing, or freeing memory. Common examples include out-of-bounds writes, use-after-free, and buffer overflows. These flaws are especially common in low-level code written in languages such as C and C++, where the program must manage memory correctly.
In cyber security, memory-safety bugs matter because they can cause crashes, data corruption, or full system compromise. An attacker may shape memory contents to turn a bug into code execution, which is why browser and operating-system vendors treat these issues as high priority. Defenders look for them in code audits, fuzzing, and patching, and they often verify that updated versions are actually running, since a fixed build only protects users after restart and deployment.