CWE

Common Weakness Enumeration

A Community-Developed List of Software & Hardware Weakness Types
CWE Top 25 Most Dangerous Weaknesses
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ID

CWE-348: Use of Less Trusted Source

Weakness ID: 348
Abstraction: Base
Structure: Simple
Status: Draft
Presentation Filter:
+ Description
The software has two different sources of the same data or information, but it uses the source that has less support for verification, is less trusted, or is less resistant to attack.
+ Relationships

The table(s) below shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore.

+ Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (CWE-1000)
NatureTypeIDName
ChildOfClassClass - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource.345Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity
+ Relevant to the view "Software Development" (CWE-699)
NatureTypeIDName
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.1214Data Integrity Issues
+ Modes Of Introduction

The different Modes of Introduction provide information about how and when this weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the life cycle at which introduction may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the given phase.

PhaseNote
Architecture and Design
Implementation
+ Applicable Platforms
The listings below show possible areas for which the given weakness could appear. These may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms, Technologies, or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given weakness appears for that instance.

Languages

Class: Language-Independent (Undetermined Prevalence)

+ Common Consequences

The table below specifies different individual consequences associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to achieve a different impact.

ScopeImpactLikelihood
Access Control

Technical Impact: Bypass Protection Mechanism; Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

An attacker could utilize the untrusted data source to bypass protection mechanisms and gain access to sensitive data.
+ Demonstrative Examples

Example 1

This code attempts to limit the access of a page to certain IP Addresses. It checks the 'HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR' header in case an authorized user is sending the request through a proxy.

(bad code)
Example Language: PHP 
$requestingIP = '0.0.0.0';
if (array_key_exists('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR', $_SERVER)) {
$requestingIP = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'];

else{
$requestingIP = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
}

if(in_array($requestingIP,$ipAllowlist)){
generatePage();
return;
}
else{
echo "You are not authorized to view this page";
return;
}

The 'HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR' header can be user controlled and so should never be trusted. An attacker can falsify the header to gain access to the page.

This fixed code only trusts the 'REMOTE_ADDR' header and so avoids the issue:

(good code)
Example Language: PHP 
$requestingIP = '0.0.0.0';
if (array_key_exists('HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR', $_SERVER)) {
echo "This application cannot be accessed through a proxy.";
return;

else{
$requestingIP = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];
}
...

Be aware that 'REMOTE_ADDR' can still be spoofed. This may seem useless because the server will send the response to the fake address and not the attacker, but this may still be enough to conduct an attack. For example, if the generatePage() function in this code is resource intensive, an attacker could flood the server with fake requests using an authorized IP and consume significant resources. This could be a serious DoS attack even though the attacker would never see the page's sensitive content.

+ Observed Examples
ReferenceDescription
Product uses IP address provided by a client, instead of obtaining it from the packet headers, allowing easier spoofing.
Web product uses the IP address in the X-Forwarded-For HTTP header instead of a server variable that uses the connecting IP address, allowing filter bypass.
Similar to CVE-2004-1950
Product logs IP address specified by the client instead of obtaining it from the packet headers, allowing information hiding.
PHP application uses IP address from X-Forwarded-For HTTP header, instead of REMOTE_ADDR.
+ Memberships
This MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits within the context of external information sources.
NatureTypeIDName
MemberOfViewView - a subset of CWE entries that provides a way of examining CWE content. The two main view structures are Slices (flat lists) and Graphs (containing relationships between entries).884CWE Cross-section
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.975SFP Secondary Cluster: Architecture
+ Taxonomy Mappings
Mapped Taxonomy NameNode IDFitMapped Node Name
PLOVERUse of Less Trusted Source
+ Content History
+ Submissions
Submission DateSubmitterOrganization
2006-07-19PLOVER
+ Modifications
Modification DateModifierOrganization
2008-07-01Eric DalciCigital
updated Time_of_Introduction
2008-09-08CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2011-06-01CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Common_Consequences
2012-05-11CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships
2013-07-17CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Relationships
2014-07-30CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Relationships
2017-05-03CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2017-11-08CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Applicable_Platforms
2020-02-24CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Relationships
2020-06-25CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Demonstrative_Examples
More information is available — Please select a different filter.
Page Last Updated: March 15, 2021
 

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