CWE-615: Inclusion of Sensitive Information in Source Code Comments
Learn about CWE-615 (Inclusion of Sensitive Information in Source Code Comments), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Inclusion of Sensitive Information in Source Code Comments?
• Overview: CWE-615 refers to the inclusion of sensitive information in source code comments, where developers leave behind important data such as filenames, old links, or code fragments in comments, potentially exposing details that should remain confidential.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can read through the source code comments to gather sensitive information.
- Common techniques include searching for keywords like "TODO," "FIXME," or looking for URL patterns and database connection strings.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include unauthorized access to sensitive application structure details and hidden parts of the site.
- Potential cascading effects include attackers using gathered information for further attacks, like reverse engineering the application.
- Business impact can be significant, leading to data breaches, loss of intellectual property, and damage to reputation.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes involve regularly reviewing and cleaning up comments to ensure no sensitive information is left.
- Security best practices include implementing a code review process to catch sensitive information in comments before code is merged.
- Recommended tools and frameworks involve using static analysis tools that can automatically detect and flag sensitive information in comments.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified