.. include:: ../includes/optional-module.rst
+.. warning::
+
+ :mod:`!ctypes` provides low-level access to native libraries and the
+ process's memory, bypassing Python's safety mechanisms and allowing
+ execution of arbitrary native code.
+ Incorrect use can corrupt data and objects, reveal sensitive information,
+ cause crashes, or otherwise compromise the running process.
+
.. _ctypes-ctypes-tutorial:
OSError: exception: access violation reading 0x00000020
>>>
-There are, however, enough ways to crash Python with :mod:`!ctypes`, so you
-should be careful anyway. The :mod:`faulthandler` module can be helpful in
-debugging crashes (e.g. from segmentation faults produced by erroneous C library
-calls).
+The :mod:`faulthandler` module can help debug crashes,
+such as segmentation faults produced by erroneous C library calls.
``None``, integers, bytes objects and (unicode) strings are the only native
Python objects that can directly be used as parameters in these function calls.