CWE-246

J2EE Bad Practices: Direct Use of Sockets
AI Translation Available

The J2EE application directly uses sockets instead of using framework method calls.

Status
draft
Abstraction
variant
Java

The J2EE standard permits the use of sockets only for the purpose of communication with legacy systems when no higher-level protocol is available. Authoring your own communication protocol requires wrestling with difficult security issues.

Without significant scrutiny by a security expert, chances are good that a custom communication protocol will suffer from security problems. Many of the same issues apply to a custom implementation of a standard protocol. While there are usually more resources available that address security concerns related to implementing a standard protocol, these resources are also available to attackers.

Common Consequences

other
Impacts
quality degradation

Detection Methods

automated static analysis

Potential Mitigations

Phases:
architecture and design
Descriptions:
• Use framework method calls instead of using sockets directly.