CWE-533: DEPRECATED: Information Exposure Through Server Log Files
Learn about CWE-533 (DEPRECATED: Information Exposure Through Server Log Files), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is DEPRECATED: Information Exposure Through Server Log Files?
• Overview: Information Exposure Through Server Log Files (CWE-533) refers to the risk of sensitive information being inadvertently stored in server logs, which can be accessed by unauthorized individuals. This CWE entry has been deprecated due to its low-level abstraction and is now covered under CWE-532.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by gaining access to server logs and extracting sensitive data such as usernames, passwords, session tokens, or other confidential information.
- Common attack patterns include unauthorized access to log files, either through weak file permissions or exploiting vulnerabilities in the system that allow log file access.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences of successful exploitation include unauthorized access to sensitive information, leading to data breaches or further attacks using exposed credentials.
- Potential cascading effects include privilege escalation, lateral movement within the network, and exploitation of other systems using the harvested information.
- Business impact can include loss of customer trust, legal liabilities, regulatory fines, and damage to brand reputation.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes include ensuring that sensitive information is not logged and using logging frameworks that support redaction or masking of sensitive data.
- Security best practices involve implementing strict access controls on log files, regularly auditing logs for sensitive information, and using secure logging mechanisms.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include centralized logging solutions with encryption and access control features, such as ELK Stack with security plugins or commercial solutions like Splunk with role-based access control.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified