CWE-1048: Invokable Control Element with Large Number of Outward Calls
Learn about CWE-1048 (Invokable Control Element with Large Number of Outward Calls), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Invokable Control Element with Large Number of Outward Calls?
• Overview: Invokable Control Element with Large Number of Outward Calls (CWE-1048) occurs when a piece of code has too many references to other parts of the application, leading to complex interdependencies that can complicate maintenance and increase the risk of vulnerabilities.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by understanding and manipulating the complex dependencies to introduce faults.
- Common attack patterns include injecting malicious code into one of the many referenced objects or causing logic errors that the excessive calls might mask.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include increased difficulty in maintaining the code and identifying vulnerabilities.
- Potential cascading effects involve the accidental introduction of vulnerabilities due to changes in one component affecting many others.
- Business impact includes higher maintenance costs and increased risk of security breaches due to complexity.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes involve reducing the number of outward calls a function or module makes, ideally adhering to the recommended limit of 5 or fewer.
- Security best practices include modular design principles, ensuring each component has a well-defined and limited scope.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include static analysis tools that can identify high fan-out values and suggest refactoring opportunities, as well as architectural reviews to ensure adherence to design principles.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified