CWE-749
Exposed Dangerous Method or Function
AI Translation Available
The product provides an Applications Programming Interface (API) or similar interface for interaction with external actors, but the interface includes a dangerous method or function that is not properly restricted.
Status
incomplete
Abstraction
base
Likelihood
low
Affected Platforms
Extended Description
AI Translation
This weakness can lead to a wide variety of resultant weaknesses, depending on the behavior of the exposed method. It can apply to any number of technologies and approaches, such as ActiveX controls, Java functions, IOCTLs, and so on.
The exposure can occur in a few different ways:
- The function/method was never intended to be exposed to outside actors.
- The function/method was only intended to be accessible to a limited set of actors, such as Internet-based access from a single web site.
Technical Details
AI Translation
Common Consequences
integrity
confidentiality
availability
access control
other
Impacts
gain privileges or assume identity
read application data
modify application data
execute unauthorized code or commands
other
Detection Methods
automated static analysis
Potential Mitigations
Phases:
architecture and design
implementation
Descriptions:
•
Identify all exposed functionality. Explicitly list all functionality that must be exposed to some user or set of users. Identify which functionality may be:
- accessible to all users
- restricted to a small set of privileged users
- prevented from being directly accessible at all
Ensure that the implemented code follows these expectations. This includes setting the appropriate access modifiers where applicable (public, private, protected, etc.) or not marking ActiveX controls safe-for-scripting.
•
If you must expose a method, make sure to perform input validation on all arguments, limit access to authorized parties, and protect against all possible vulnerabilities.