The software logs too much information, making log files hard
to process and possibly hindering recovery efforts or forensic analysis after an
attack.
Extended Description
While logging is a good practice in general, and very high levels of
logging are appropriate for debugging stages of development, too much
logging in a production environment might hinder a system administrator's
ability to detect anomalous conditions. This can provide cover for an
attacker while attempting to penetrate a system, clutter the audit trail for
forensic analysis, or make it more difficult to debug problems in a
production environment.
Time of Introduction
Operation
Applicable Platforms
Languages
Language-independent
Common Consequences
Scope
Effect
Availability
Log files can become so large that they consume excessive resources,
such as disk and CPU, which can hinder the performance of the
system.
Accountability
Logging too much information can make the log files of less use to
forensics analysts and developers when trying to diagnose a problem or
recover from an attack.
Integrity
If system administrators are unable to effectively process log files,
attempted attacks may go undetected, possibly leading to eventual system
compromise.
chain: application does not restrict access to
front-end for updates, which allows attacker to fill the error
log
Potential Mitigations
Phase
Description
Architecture and Design
Suppress large numbers of duplicate log messages and replace them with
periodic summaries. For example, syslog may include an entry that states
"last message repeated X times" when recording repeated events.
Architecture and Design
Support a maximum size for the log file that can be controlled by the
administrator. If the maximum size is reached, the admin should be
notified. Also, consider reducing functionality of the software. This
may result in a denial-of-service to legitimate software users, but it
will prevent the software from adversely impacting the entire
system.
Implementation
Adjust configurations appropriately when software is transitioned from
a debug state to production.
Description
