CWE-1043: Data Element Aggregating an Excessively Large Number of Non-Primitive Elements

What is Data Element Aggregating an Excessively Large Number of Non-Primitive Elements?

• Overview: CWE-1043 occurs when a data element contains too many sub-elements that are not primitive data types, such as objects or structures. This can lead to performance issues, as processing these complex data structures takes more resources and time, especially if they are excessively large.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers can trigger performance degradation by manipulating the data to contain a large number of non-primitive elements, potentially leading to denial-of-service (DoS) conditions.
• Common attack patterns include sending specially crafted data inputs that cause the system to allocate excessive memory or processing resources.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences include slowed system performance and increased resource consumption, which can lead to denial-of-service issues.
• Potential cascading effects include system crashes or the inability to process legitimate user requests.
• Business impact may involve service downtime, decreased user satisfaction, and potential financial loss due to disrupted operations.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Specific code-level fixes include limiting the number of non-primitive sub-elements within data structures and validating input data to ensure it meets expected size constraints.
• Security best practices involve conducting thorough code reviews and performance testing to identify and address potential bottlenecks.
• Recommended tools and frameworks include static analysis tools to detect complex data structures and performance profiling tools to monitor system resource usage.

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Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not specified

Affected Technologies: Not specified