CWE-1301: Insufficient or Incomplete Data Removal within Hardware Component

What is Insufficient or Incomplete Data Removal within Hardware Component?

• Overview: Insufficient or Incomplete Data Removal within Hardware Component (CWE-1301) occurs when data removal processes fail to entirely erase sensitive information from hardware components, leaving remnants of data that can potentially be recovered even after deletion.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by physically accessing the hardware and using specialized tools to recover residual data.
• Common attack patterns include analyzing memory remanence effects, such as residual charge in RAM or altered magnetic states in storage media.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences of successful exploitation include unauthorized access to sensitive information that was assumed to be deleted.
• Potential cascading effects involve data breaches where attackers leverage recovered data to gain access to additional systems or networks.
• Business impact can be severe, leading to loss of intellectual property, legal penalties, and damage to reputation.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Specific code-level fixes are not applicable, as this is not language-specific, but ensuring thorough data erasure protocols at the hardware level is crucial.
• Security best practices include using hardware that supports secure data erasure standards and ensuring complete data sanitization before decommissioning.
• Recommended tools and frameworks involve secure erase utilities and encryption technologies to prevent unauthorized data recovery.

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Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not Language-Specific

Affected Technologies: Not Technology-Specific

Vulnerable Code Example

# Simulated hardware memory component represented as a list
hardware_memory = [0] * 1024

# Function to clear memory
def clear_memory():
    # Incomplete data removal: Only clearing part of the memory
    for i in range(len(hardware_memory) // 2):
        hardware_memory[i] = 0
    # Sensitive data in the second half remains intact

# Example usage
hardware_memory[500] = 'sensitiveData'  # Storing sensitive data
clear_memory()
print(hardware_memory)  # Shows sensitive data still present in memory

Explanation

In this code, the clear_memory function is intended to remove all data from the simulated hardware memory. However, it only clears the first half of the memory, leaving the second half potentially containing sensitive data, such as hardware_memory[500], intact. This incomplete data removal can lead to security vulnerabilities, especially if sensitive information is stored in the un-cleared portion of memory.

How to fix Insufficient or Incomplete Data Removal within Hardware Component?

Fixed Code Example

# Simulated hardware memory component represented as a list
hardware_memory = [0] * 1024

# Function to clear memory
def clear_memory():
    # Complete data removal: Clearing the entire memory
    for i in range(len(hardware_memory)):
        hardware_memory[i] = 0
    # Ensures no sensitive data remains

# Example usage
hardware_memory[500] = 'sensitiveData'  # Storing sensitive data
clear_memory()
print(hardware_memory)  # Shows a list filled with zeros, confirming all data is removed

Explanation

The fixed code ensures that the clear_memory function iterates over the entire memory list, setting each element to zero. This comprehensive clearing process ensures that no residual data, especially sensitive information, is left in memory. This approach mitigates the risk of data leakage and enhances the security of the memory management process.