Détail du CWE-1278

CWE-1278

Missing Protection Against Hardware Reverse Engineering Using Integrated Circuit (IC) Imaging Techniques
Incomplete
2020-02-24
00h00 +00:00
2023-06-29
00h00 +00:00
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Nom: Missing Protection Against Hardware Reverse Engineering Using Integrated Circuit (IC) Imaging Techniques

Information stored in hardware may be recovered by an attacker with the capability to capture and analyze images of the integrated circuit using techniques such as scanning electron microscopy.

Description du CWE

The physical structure of a device, viewed at high enough magnification, can reveal the information stored inside. Typical steps in IC reverse engineering involve removing the chip packaging (decapsulation) then using various imaging techniques ranging from high resolution x-ray microscopy to invasive techniques involving removing IC layers and imaging each layer using a scanning electron microscope.

The goal of such activities is to recover secret keys, unique device identifiers, and proprietary code and circuit designs embedded in hardware that the attacker has been unsuccessful at accessing through other means. These secrets may be stored in non-volatile memory or in the circuit netlist. Memory technologies such as masked ROM allow easier to extraction of secrets than One-time Programmable (OTP) memory.

Informations générales

Modes d'introduction

Architecture and Design

Plateformes applicables

Langue

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Systèmes d’exploitation

Class: Not OS-Specific (Undetermined)

Architectures

Class: Not Architecture-Specific (Undetermined)

Technologies

Class: Not Technology-Specific (Undetermined)

Conséquences courantes

Portée Impact Probabilité
ConfidentialityVaries by Context

Note: A common goal of malicious actors who reverse engineer ICs is to produce and sell counterfeit versions of the IC.

Mesures d’atténuation potentielles

Phases : Architecture and Design
The cost of secret extraction via IC reverse engineering should outweigh the potential value of the secrets being extracted. Threat model and value of secrets should be used to choose the technology used to safeguard those secrets. Examples include IC camouflaging and obfuscation, tamper-proof packaging, active shielding, and physical tampering detection information erasure.

Notes de cartographie des vulnérabilités

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.
Commentaire : 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.

Modèles d'attaque associés

CAPEC-ID Nom du modèle d'attaque
CAPEC-188 Reverse Engineering
An adversary discovers the structure, function, and composition of an object, resource, or system by using a variety of analysis techniques to effectively determine how the analyzed entity was constructed or operates. The goal of reverse engineering is often to duplicate the function, or a part of the function, of an object in order to duplicate or "back engineer" some aspect of its functioning. Reverse engineering techniques can be applied to mechanical objects, electronic devices, or software, although the methodology and techniques involved in each type of analysis differ widely.
CAPEC-37 Retrieve Embedded Sensitive Data
An attacker examines a target system to find sensitive data that has been embedded within it. This information can reveal confidential contents, such as account numbers or individual keys/credentials that can be used as an intermediate step in a larger attack.
CAPEC-545 Pull Data from System Resources
An adversary who is authorized or has the ability to search known system resources, does so with the intention of gathering useful information. System resources include files, memory, and other aspects of the target system. In this pattern of attack, the adversary does not necessarily know what they are going to find when they start pulling data. This is different than CAPEC-150 where the adversary knows what they are looking for due to the common location.

NotesNotes

This entry is still under development and will continue to see updates and content improvements. It is more attack-oriented, so it might be more suited for CAPEC.

Références

REF-1092

A Survey on Chip to System Reverse Engineering
Shahed E. Quadir, Junlin Chen, Domenic Forte, Navid Asadizanjani, Sina Shahbazmohamadi, Lei Wang, John Chandy, Mark Tehranipoor.
https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/2755563

REF-1129

Security Failures In Secure Devices
Christopher Tarnovsky.
https://www.blackhat.com/presentations/bh-dc-08/Tarnovsky/Presentation/bh-dc-08-tarnovsky.pdf

Soumission

Nom Organisation Date Date de publication Version
Nicole Fern Cycuity (originally submitted as Tortuga Logic) 2020-05-20 +00:00 2020-02-24 +00:00 4.1

Modifications

Nom Organisation Date Commentaire
CWE Content Team MITRE 2020-08-20 +00:00 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Modes_of_Introduction, Potential_Mitigations, References, Related_Attack_Patterns
CWE Content Team MITRE 2021-03-15 +00:00 updated Maintenance_Notes
CWE Content Team MITRE 2022-04-28 +00:00 updated Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2022-06-28 +00:00 updated Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2022-10-13 +00:00 updated Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-01-31 +00:00 updated Related_Attack_Patterns
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-04-27 +00:00 updated References, Relationships
CWE Content Team MITRE 2023-06-29 +00:00 updated Mapping_Notes