CWE-796: Only Filtering Special Elements Relative to a Marker
Learn about CWE-796 (Only Filtering Special Elements Relative to a Marker), its security impact, exploitation methods, and prevention guidelines.
What is Only Filtering Special Elements Relative to a Marker?
• Overview: This vulnerability occurs when a program only filters or validates special elements based on their position relative to a specific marker, such as at the beginning or end of a string or as a specific argument, and fails to address other special elements that may exist elsewhere in the data.
• Exploitation Methods:
- Attackers can exploit this by placing malicious elements in positions that are not checked by the marker-based filtering.
- Common attack patterns include injecting malicious code or data in unchecked positions that bypass the initial validation.
• Security Impact:
- Direct consequences include unauthorized data access or execution of malicious code.
- Potential cascading effects involve broader system compromise or data leakage.
- Business impact can include reputational damage, regulatory fines, and loss of customer trust.
• Prevention Guidelines:
- Implement comprehensive input validation that checks all parts of the data, not just those relative to markers.
- Use security best practices like whitelisting valid data formats and characters.
- Recommended tools and frameworks include input validation libraries and security-focused code analysis tools to detect and mitigate such vulnerabilities.
Technical Details
Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified
Affected Languages: Not specified
Affected Technologies: Not specified