CWE-673: External Influence of Sphere Definition
Learn about CWE-673 (External Influence of Sphere Definition), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is External Influence of Sphere Definition?
• Overview: This vulnerability occurs when a software product allows external entities to define or alter its control boundaries or spheres. This can lead to unauthorized control or influence over the software's behavior or operations by outside actors.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by manipulating configuration files, environment variables, or settings that define control spheres.
- Common attack patterns include injecting malicious configurations or altering existing settings to bypass security controls.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include unauthorized access, privilege escalation, or control over the software's operations.
- Potential cascading effects might involve further exploitation of the system, leading to data breaches or corruption.
- Business impact includes potential loss of customer trust, legal liabilities, and financial losses due to compromised systems.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes include hardcoding critical control sphere definitions within the application and restricting modifications to trusted administrators.
- Security best practices involve validating and sanitizing all inputs that can affect configuration or control sphere definitions.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include configuration management systems that enforce strict access controls and audit trails.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified