CWE

Common Weakness Enumeration

A community-developed list of SW & HW weaknesses that can become vulnerabilities

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Home > CWE List > CWE- Individual Dictionary Definition (4.14)  
ID

CWE-841: Improper Enforcement of Behavioral Workflow

Weakness ID: 841
Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWEDThis CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities
Abstraction: BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.
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+ Description
The product supports a session in which more than one behavior must be performed by an actor, but it does not properly ensure that the actor performs the behaviors in the required sequence.
+ Extended Description

By performing actions in an unexpected order, or by omitting steps, an attacker could manipulate the business logic of the product or cause it to enter an invalid state. In some cases, this can also expose resultant weaknesses.

For example, a file-sharing protocol might require that an actor perform separate steps to provide a username, then a password, before being able to transfer files. If the file-sharing server accepts a password command followed by a transfer command, without any username being provided, the product might still perform the transfer.

Note that this is different than CWE-696, which focuses on when the product performs actions in the wrong sequence; this entry is closely related, but it is focused on ensuring that the actor performs actions in the correct sequence.

Workflow-related behaviors include:

  • Steps are performed in the expected order.
  • Required steps are not omitted.
  • Steps are not interrupted.
  • Steps are performed in a timely fashion.
+ Relationships
Section HelpThis table 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
ChildOfPillarPillar - a weakness that is the most abstract type of weakness and represents a theme for all class/base/variant weaknesses related to it. A Pillar is different from a Category as a Pillar is still technically a type of weakness that describes a mistake, while a Category represents a common characteristic used to group related things.691Insufficient Control Flow Management
Section HelpThis table 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 "Software Development" (CWE-699)
NatureTypeIDName
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.1217User Session Errors
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.438Behavioral Problems
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.840Business Logic Errors
Section HelpThis table 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 "Architectural Concepts" (CWE-1008)
NatureTypeIDName
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.1018Manage User Sessions
+ Modes Of Introduction
Section HelpThe 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
ImplementationREALIZATION: This weakness is caused during implementation of an architectural security tactic.
+ Common Consequences
Section HelpThis table 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
Other

Technical Impact: Alter Execution Logic

An attacker could cause the product to skip critical steps or perform them in the wrong order, bypassing its intended business logic. This can sometimes have security implications.
+ Demonstrative Examples

Example 1

This code is part of an FTP server and deals with various commands that could be sent by a user. It is intended that a user must successfully login before performing any other action such as retrieving or listing files.

(bad code)
Example Language: Python 
def dispatchCommand(command, user, args):
if command == 'Login':
loginUser(args)
return


# user has requested a file
if command == 'Retrieve_file':
if authenticated(user) and ownsFile(user,args):
sendFile(args)
return

if command == 'List_files':
listFiles(args)
return

...

The server correctly avoids sending files to a user that isn't logged in and doesn't own the file. However, the server will incorrectly list the files in any directory without confirming the command came from an authenticated user, and that the user is authorized to see the directory's contents.

Here is a fixed version of the above example:

(good code)
Example Language: Python 
def dispatchCommand(command, user, args):

...
if command == 'List_files':
if authenticated(user) and ownsDirectory(user,args):
listFiles(args)
return

...
+ Observed Examples
ReferenceDescription
Bypass of access/billing restrictions by sending traffic to an unrestricted destination before sending to a restricted destination.
Attacker can access portions of a restricted page by canceling out of a dialog.
Ticket-tracking system does not enforce a permission setting.
Shopping cart does not close a database connection when user restores a previous order, leading to connection exhaustion.
Chain: product does not properly handle dropped connections, leading to missing NULL terminator (CWE-170) and segmentation fault.
Chain: Authentication bypass by skipping the first startup step as required by the protocol.
Chain: File server crashes when sent a "find next" request without an initial "find first."
FTP server allows remote attackers to bypass authentication by sending (1) LIST, (2) RETR, (3) STOR, or other commands without performing the required login steps first.
FTP server allows remote attackers to list arbitrary directories as root by running the LIST command before logging in.
+ Memberships
Section HelpThis 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
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.8672011 Top 25 - Weaknesses On the Cusp
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.1348OWASP Top Ten 2021 Category A04:2021 - Insecure Design
MemberOfCategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.1410Comprehensive Categorization: Insufficient Control Flow Management
+ Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Usage: ALLOWED

(this CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities)

Reason: Acceptable-Use

Rationale:

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.

Comments:

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.
+ Notes

Research Gap

This weakness is typically associated with business logic flaws, except when it produces resultant weaknesses.

The classification of business logic flaws has been under-studied, although exploitation of business flaws frequently happens in real-world systems, and many applied vulnerability researchers investigate them. The greatest focus is in web applications. There is debate within the community about whether these problems represent particularly new concepts, or if they are variations of well-known principles.

Many business logic flaws appear to be oriented toward business processes, application flows, and sequences of behaviors, which are not as well-represented in CWE as weaknesses related to input validation, memory management, etc.

+ Taxonomy Mappings
Mapped Taxonomy NameNode IDFitMapped Node Name
WASC40Insufficient Process Validation
+ References
[REF-795] Jeremiah Grossman. "Business Logic Flaws and Yahoo Games". 2006-12-08. <https://blog.jeremiahgrossman.com/2006/12/business-logic-flaws.html>. URL validated: 2023-04-07.
[REF-796] Jeremiah Grossman. "Seven Business Logic Flaws That Put Your Website At Risk". 2007-10. <https://docplayer.net/10021793-Seven-business-logic-flaws-that-put-your-website-at-risk.html>. URL validated: 2023-04-07.
[REF-797] WhiteHat Security. "Business Logic Flaws". <https://web.archive.org/web/20080720171327/http://www.whitehatsec.com/home/solutions/BL_auction.html>. URL validated: 2023-04-07.
[REF-806] WASC. "Insufficient Process Validation". <http://projects.webappsec.org/w/page/13246943/Insufficient-Process-Validation>.
[REF-799] Rafal Los and Prajakta Jagdale. "Defying Logic: Theory, Design, and Implementation of Complex Systems for Testing Application Logic". 2011. <https://www.slideshare.net/RafalLos/defying-logic-business-logic-testing-with-automation>. URL validated: 2023-04-07.
[REF-667] Rafal Los. "Real-Life Example of a 'Business Logic Defect' (Screen Shots!)". 2011. <http://h30501.www3.hp.com/t5/Following-the-White-Rabbit-A/Real-Life-Example-of-a-Business-Logic-Defect-Screen-Shots/ba-p/22581>.
[REF-801] Viktoria Felmetsger, Ludovico Cavedon, Christopher Kruegel and Giovanni Vigna. "Toward Automated Detection of Logic Vulnerabilities in Web Applications". USENIX Security Symposium 2010. 2010-08. <https://www.usenix.org/legacy/events/sec10/tech/full_papers/Felmetsger.pdf>. URL validated: 2023-04-07.
[REF-802] Faisal Nabi. "Designing a Framework Method for Secure Business Application Logic Integrity in e-Commerce Systems". pages 29 - 41. International Journal of Network Security, Vol.12, No.1. 2011. <http://ijns.femto.com.tw/contents/ijns-v12-n1/ijns-2011-v12-n1-p29-41.pdf>.
+ Content History
+ Submissions
Submission DateSubmitterOrganization
2011-03-24
(CWE 1.12, 2011-03-30)
CWE Content TeamMITRE
+ Contributions
Contribution DateContributorOrganization
2021-11-11Anonymous External Contributor
Reported an error in a demonstrative example
+ Modifications
Modification DateModifierOrganization
2011-06-01CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Common_Consequences
2011-06-27CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Common_Consequences, Observed_Examples, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships
2012-05-11CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples, Relationships
2017-11-08CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Modes_of_Introduction, References, Relationships
2020-02-24CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Relationships
2021-10-28CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Relationships
2022-04-28CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Demonstrative_Examples
2023-01-31CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Common_Consequences, Description
2023-04-27CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated References, Relationships
2023-06-29CWE Content TeamMITRE
updated Mapping_Notes
Page Last Updated: February 29, 2024