CWE-1042: Static Member Data Element outside of a Singleton Class Element
Learn about CWE-1042 (Static Member Data Element outside of a Singleton Class Element), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Static Member Data Element outside of a Singleton Class Element?
• Overview: CWE-1042 refers to a situation where a static member variable is declared in a class that is not a singleton. In simple terms, it means that this static variable is shared across all instances of the class, which can lead to unintended behavior and performance issues if not managed properly.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by manipulating the static variable to affect the behavior of all instances of the class.
- Common attack patterns include race conditions where concurrent modifications lead to inconsistent states or unexpected behavior.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include unexpected state changes, which can cause incorrect program behavior or crashes.
- Potential cascading effects include data corruption and degraded performance, potentially leading to denial-of-service conditions.
- Business impact could be loss of trust, service outages, and potential financial losses due to system instability.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes involve ensuring that static variables are used appropriately, ideally within singleton patterns where only one instance of the class manages the state.
- Security best practices include code reviews to identify inappropriate use of static variables and implementing proper synchronization mechanisms if necessary.
- Recommended tools and frameworks involve using static analysis tools to detect improper use of static variables and employing design patterns that encapsulate state management effectively.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified