CWE-621
Variable Extraction Error
AI Translation Available
The product uses external input to determine the names of variables into which information is extracted, without verifying that the names of the specified variables are valid. This could cause the program to overwrite unintended variables.
Status
incomplete
Abstraction
variant
Affected Platforms
PHP
Extended Description
AI Translation
For example, in PHP, extraction can be used to provide functionality similar to register_globals, a dangerous functionality that is frequently disabled in production systems. Calling extract() or import_request_variables() without the proper arguments could allow arbitrary global variables to be overwritten, including superglobals.
Similar functionality is possible in other interpreted languages, including custom languages.
Technical Details
AI Translation
Common Consequences
integrity
Impacts
modify application data
Potential Mitigations
Phases:
implementation
Descriptions:
•
Consider refactoring your code to avoid extraction routines altogether.
•
Use allowlists of variable names that can be extracted.
•
In PHP, call extract() with options such as EXTR_SKIP and EXTR_PREFIX_ALL; call import_request_variables() with a prefix argument. Note that these capabilities are not present in all PHP versions.