CWE-792: Incomplete Filtering of One or More Instances of Special Elements
Learn about CWE-792 (Incomplete Filtering of One or More Instances of Special Elements), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Incomplete Filtering of One or More Instances of Special Elements?
• Overview: Incomplete Filtering of Special Elements (CWE-792) occurs when a software application does not adequately filter or sanitize special characters or elements from input data received from one component before passing it to another. This can happen if only some instances of special elements are filtered, or if not all necessary types of special elements are filtered.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by injecting malicious data that includes unfiltered special characters.
- Common attack patterns include injection attacks such as SQL injection, XML injection, and command injection, where special elements are used to alter the intended behavior of the software.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include unauthorized access, data corruption, or execution of unintended commands.
- Potential cascading effects involve compromised system integrity or confidentiality, possibly leading to further exploits.
- Business impact could include data breaches, loss of customer trust, legal liabilities, and financial loss.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Specific code-level fixes involve implementing comprehensive input validation and output encoding to ensure all instances of special elements are properly filtered.
- Security best practices include adopting a whitelisting approach for allowed characters and regularly updating filtering rules to cover new threats.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include using libraries and frameworks that provide built-in sanitation functions, such as OWASP's ESAPI, and utilizing automated security testing tools to identify incomplete filtering vulnerabilities.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified