CWE-782: Exposed IOCTL with Insufficient Access Control
Exposed IOCTL with Insufficient Access Control
Weakness ID: 782 (Weakness Variant)
Status: Draft
Description
Description Summary
The software implements an IOCTL with functionality that should be restricted, but it does not properly enforce access control for the IOCTL.
Extended Description
When an IOCTL contains privileged functionality and is exposed unnecessarily, attackers may be able to access this functionality by invoking the IOCTL. Even if the functionality is benign, if the programmer has assumed that the IOCTL would only be accessed by a trusted process, there may be little or no validation of the incoming data, exposing weaknesses that would never be reachable if the attacker cannot call the IOCTL directly.
The implementations of IOCTLs will differ between operating system types and versions, so the methods of attack and prevention may vary widely.
Time of Introduction
Architecture and Design
Implementation
Applicable Platforms
Languages
C: (Often)
C++: (Often)
Operating Systems
UNIX-based
Windows-based
Platform Notes
Because IOCTL functionality is typically performing low-level actions and
closely interacts with the operating system, this weakness may only appear
in code that is written in low-level languages.
Common Consequences
Scope
Effect
Integrity
Availability
Confidentiality
Attackers can invoke any functionality that the IOCTL offers.
Depending on the functionality, the consequences may include code
execution, denial-of-service, and theft of data.
This can be primary to many other weaknesses when the programmer assumes that the IOCTL can only be accessed by trusted parties. For example, a program or driver might not validate incoming addresses in METHOD_NEITHER IOCTLs in Windows environments (CWE-781), which could allow buffer overflow and similar attacks to take place, even when the attacker never should have been able to access the IOCTL at all.
Description
