CWE-538: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

Description

The product places sensitive information into files or directories that are accessible to actors who are allowed to have access to the files, but not to the sensitive information.

Extended Description

N/A

ThreatScore

Threat Mapped score: 3.0

Industry: Finiancial

Threat priority: P2 - Serious (High)

Observed Examples (CVEs)

CVE: CVE-2018-1999036

SSH password for private key stored in build log

Related Attack Patterns (CAPEC)

CAPEC-95

Attack TTPs

N/A

Modes of Introduction

Phase	Note
Implementation	OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.
Operation	OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.

Common Consequences

Impact: Read Files or Directories — Notes:

Potential Mitigations

Architecture and Design: Do not expose file and directory information to the user. (N/A)

Applicable Platforms

None (Not Language-Specific, Undetermined)

Demonstrative Examples

Intro: In the following code snippet, a user's full name and credit card number are written to a log file.

logger.info("Username: " + usernme + ", CCN: " + ccn);

Notes

Maintenance: Depending on usage, this could be a weakness or a category. Further study of all its children is needed, and the entire sub-tree may need to be clarified. The current organization is based primarily on the exposure of sensitive information as a consequence, instead of as a primary weakness.
Maintenance: There is a close relationship with CWE-552, which is more focused on weaknesses. As a result, it may be more appropriate to convert CWE-538 to a category.

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