CWE-538 Detail

CWE-538

Name

Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

Status

Draft

Published

2006-07-19
00h00 +00:00

Modified

2023-10-26
00h00 +00:00

Official links

CWE Mitre.org

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Name: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

The product places sensitive information into files or directories that are accessible to actors who are allowed to have access to the files, but not to the sensitive information.

General Informations

Modes Of Introduction

Implementation : OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.
Operation : OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.

Applicable Platforms

Language

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Common Consequences

Scope	Impact	Likelihood
Confidentiality	Read Files or Directories

Observed Examples

References	Description
CVE-2018-1999036	SSH password for private key stored in build log

Potential Mitigations

Phases : Architecture and Design // Operation // System Configuration
Do not expose file and directory information to the user.

Detection Methods

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
Effectiveness : High

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Justification : This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Comment : Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Related Attack Patterns

CAPEC-ID	Attack Pattern Name
CAPEC-95	WSDL Scanning This attack targets the WSDL interface made available by a web service. The attacker may scan the WSDL interface to reveal sensitive information about invocation patterns, underlying technology implementations and associated vulnerabilities. This type of probing is carried out to perform more serious attacks (e.g. parameter tampering, malicious content injection, command injection, etc.). WSDL files provide detailed information about the services ports and bindings available to consumers. For instance, the attacker can submit special characters or malicious content to the Web service and can cause a denial of service condition or illegal access to database records. In addition, the attacker may try to guess other private methods by using the information provided in the WSDL files.

NotesNotes

Depending on usage, this could be a weakness or a category. Further study of all its children is needed, and the entire sub-tree may need to be clarified. The current organization is based primarily on the exposure of sensitive information as a consequence, instead of as a primary weakness.
There is a close relationship with CWE-552, which is more focused on weaknesses. As a result, it may be more appropriate to convert CWE-538 to a category.

References

REF-44

24 Deadly Sins of Software Security
Michael Howard, David LeBlanc, John Viega.

Submission

Name	Organization	Date	Date release	Version
CWE Community		2006-07-19 +00:00	2006-07-19 +00:00	Draft 3

Modifications

Name	Organization	Date	Comment
Eric Dalci	Cigital	2008-07-01 +00:00	updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2008-09-08 +00:00	updated Relationships, Type
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2009-12-28 +00:00	updated Description, Maintenance_Notes, Name
	Veracode	2010-09-09 +00:00	Suggested OWASP Top Ten mapping
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2010-09-27 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2011-06-01 +00:00	updated Common_Consequences
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2012-05-11 +00:00	updated References, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2012-10-30 +00:00	updated Potential_Mitigations
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2013-02-21 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2014-07-30 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2015-12-07 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2017-05-03 +00:00	updated Related_Attack_Patterns
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2017-11-08 +00:00	updated Applicable_Platforms, Modes_of_Introduction, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2019-06-20 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2020-02-24 +00:00	updated Description, Name, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2021-10-28 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-04-27 +00:00	updated Detection_Factors, Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-06-29 +00:00	updated Mapping_Notes
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-10-26 +00:00	updated Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples