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Buffer Overflow Testing

publish date: 2026/06/18 03:41:35.813666 UTC

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A tester deliberately sends 10,000 characters to a text input field that was designed to accept a maximum of 255 characters. Which Whittaker testing guideline does this test follow?

Design inputs that cause input buffers to overflow

Choose inputs that force the system to generate all error messages

Repeat the same input numerous times

Force computation results to be too large or too small

Correct Answer

Design inputs that cause input buffers to overflow

Explanation

Deliberately sending more data than a buffer can hold follows the guideline to 'design inputs that cause input buffers to overflow.' Buffer overflows are a common source of security vulnerabilities and unexpected behavior, so testing for this condition is important regardless of whether the specification explicitly addresses it.

Reference

Software Engineering, Ian Sommerville, 10th edition

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