CWE-515: Covert Storage Channel
Learn about CWE-515 (Covert Storage Channel), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Covert Storage Channel?
• Overview: Covert Storage Channel (CWE-515) is a vulnerability where information is transferred covertly between programs through the manipulation of bits. This is distinct from regular operations because it involves encoding information in bits not intended for direct data transfer.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by encoding sensitive information into bits of data structures or files that are accessible by other users or programs.
- Common attack patterns include using files or memory locations meant for different purposes, such as audit logs or status flags, to secretly store and transmit information.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include unauthorized access to sensitive information, such as passwords or confidential data, without detection.
- Potential cascading effects involve data breaches and the compromise of system integrity and confidentiality.
- Business impact can include loss of customer trust, legal ramifications, and financial losses due to data breaches.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Implement strict access controls to limit who can read and write to shared files or memory locations.
- Regularly audit code and storage areas for the presence of unintended data or information encoding.
- Utilize recommended tools and frameworks that help detect and prevent covert channels, such as static analysis tools and security-focused code reviews.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit:
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified