Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges
Draft Base
Structure: Simple
Description
The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to perform an operation, leading to resultant weaknesses.
Common Consequences 1
Scope: Other
Impact: OtherAlter Execution Logic
Detection Methods 1
Automated Static AnalysisHigh
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)Observed Examples 3
CVE-2001-1564System limits are not properly enforced after privileges are dropped.
CVE-2005-3286Firewall crashes when it can't read a critical memory block that was protected by a malicious process.
CVE-2005-1641Does not give admin sufficient privileges to overcome otherwise legitimate user actions.
Applicable Platforms
Languages:
Not Language-Specific : Undetermined
Modes of Introduction
Implementation
Operation
Related Weaknesses
Taxonomy Mapping
- PLOVER
Notes
MaintenanceImproper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges and Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges are too similar. It is likely that Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges will be deprecated in the future.
RelationshipOverlaps dropped privileges, insufficient permissions.
TheoreticalThis has a layering relationship with Unchecked Error Condition and Unchecked Return Value.
TheoreticalWithin the context of vulnerability theory, privileges and permissions are two sides of the same coin. Privileges are associated with actors, and permissions are associated with resources. To perform access control, at some point the product makes a decision about whether the actor (and the privileges that have been assigned to that actor) is allowed to access the resource (based on the permissions that have been specified for that resource).