CWE-1102: Reliance on Machine-Dependent Data Representation

What is Reliance on Machine-Dependent Data Representation?

• Overview: Reliance on Machine-Dependent Data Representation (CWE-1102) occurs when code depends on low-level data representations that can vary across different hardware or operating systems, leading to potential issues in portability, maintenance, and security.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by targeting inconsistencies across platforms, causing the program to behave unexpectedly.
• Common attack patterns include exploiting differences in data storage, endianess, or size limitations of data types across different systems.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences of successful exploitation include program crashes, data corruption, or unexpected behavior.
• Potential cascading effects involve increased difficulty in maintaining or updating the software, which could introduce further vulnerabilities.
• Business impact includes increased costs and efforts for troubleshooting, patching, and ensuring cross-platform compatibility.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Specific code-level fixes include using platform-independent data types and serialization methods to ensure consistent data representation.
• Security best practices involve thorough testing across various platforms and environments to identify and resolve machine-dependent issues.
• Recommended tools and frameworks include using cross-platform development tools and libraries that abstract away low-level system dependencies.

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Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not specified

Affected Technologies: Not specified