CWE-536: Servlet Runtime Error Message Containing Sensitive Information
Learn about CWE-536 (Servlet Runtime Error Message Containing Sensitive Information), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Servlet Runtime Error Message Containing Sensitive Information?
• Overview: Servlet Runtime Error Message Containing Sensitive Information (CWE-536) occurs when a servlet error message reveals unhandled exceptions in web application code, potentially leaking sensitive information useful to attackers.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by triggering errors, then analyzing error messages for clues about the application's structure and vulnerabilities.
- Common attack patterns include sending unexpected inputs or malformed requests to the application to cause errors intentionally.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include information leakage that could reveal application logic, database structures, or server configurations.
- Potential cascading effects include enabling further attacks such as SQL injection or cross-site scripting (XSS) using the information gleaned.
- Business impact involves potential data breaches, loss of customer trust, legal liabilities, and financial losses.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes include configuring error handling to display generic error messages rather than detailed stack traces.
- Security best practices involve implementing centralized error logging and monitoring to detect and respond to unusual error patterns.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include using web application firewalls (WAFs) and employing security-focused frameworks that offer built-in protection mechanisms.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified