CWE-617

Reachable Assertion
AI Translation Available

The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.

Status
draft
Abstraction
base
C Java Not Language-Specific Rust

While assertion is good for catching logic errors and reducing the chances of reaching more serious vulnerability conditions, it can still lead to a denial of service.

For example, if a server handles multiple simultaneous connections, and an assert() occurs in one single connection that causes all other connections to be dropped, this is a reachable assertion that leads to a denial of service.

Common Consequences

availability
Impacts
dos: crash, exit, or restart

Detection Methods

automated static analysis

Potential Mitigations

Phases:
implementation
Descriptions:
• Perform input validation on user data.
• Make sensitive open/close operation non reachable by directly user-controlled data (e.g. open/close resources)