CWE-1093: Excessively Complex Data Representation

What is Excessively Complex Data Representation?

• Overview: Excessively Complex Data Representation occurs when a product uses an overly complicated internal structure for its data or relationships between data structures. This complexity makes the system harder to understand and maintain, potentially leading to security vulnerabilities.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers exploit this vulnerability by leveraging the complexity to hide malicious actions or to manipulate the system in unintended ways.
• Common attack patterns include obfuscating malicious activities within complex data structures or exploiting maintenance difficulties to introduce vulnerabilities.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences include increased difficulty in identifying and resolving security issues.
• Potential cascading effects include overlooked vulnerabilities leading to data breaches or system failures.
• Business impact may involve increased maintenance costs, security breaches, and loss of customer trust.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Simplify data structures and relationships to ensure clarity and ease of maintenance.
• Follow security best practices such as regular code reviews and refactoring to reduce complexity.
• Utilize recommended tools and frameworks that enforce or encourage simpler data representations and provide static analysis for complexity.

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Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not specified

Affected Technologies: Not specified