CWE-1177: Use of Prohibited Code
Learn about CWE-1177 (Use of Prohibited Code), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Use of Prohibited Code?
• Overview: Use of Prohibited Code (CWE-1177) occurs when a product uses a function, library, or third-party component that has been explicitly banned by the developer or customer, often due to security concerns, licensing issues, or maintenance problems.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit known vulnerabilities in prohibited code if it is used within a product.
- Common attack patterns include leveraging deprecated or insecure functions to gain unauthorized access or execute malicious code.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences of successful exploitation can include unauthorized access, data breaches, or system compromise.
- Potential cascading effects involve broader security vulnerabilities in interconnected systems and components.
- Business impact may include increased maintenance costs, legal liabilities, and damage to reputation.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes include replacing prohibited functions with secure alternatives and refactoring code to remove dependencies on banned components.
- Security best practices involve regularly updating and reviewing lists of prohibited code and auditing codebases for compliance.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include static code analysis tools and dependency management systems to identify and flag prohibited code usage.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified