Trust of System Event Data

Incomplete Base

Structure: Simple

Description

Security based on event locations are insecure and can be spoofed.

Extended Description

Events are a messaging system which may provide control data to programs listening for events. Events often do not have any type of authentication framework to allow them to be verified from a trusted source. Any application, in Windows, on a given desktop can send a message to any window on the same desktop. There is no authentication framework for these messages. Therefore, any message can be used to manipulate any process on the desktop if the process does not check the validity and safeness of those messages.

Common Consequences 1

Scope: IntegrityConfidentialityAvailabilityAccess Control

Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume IdentityExecute Unauthorized Code or Commands

If one trusts the system-event information and executes commands based on it, one could potentially take actions based on a spoofed identity.

Potential Mitigations 1

Phase: Architecture and Design

Never trust or rely any of the information in an Event for security.

Demonstrative Examples 1

This example code prints out secret information when an authorized user activates a button:

Code Example:Bad
Java
java

This code does not attempt to prevent unauthorized users from activating the button. Even if the button is rendered non-functional to unauthorized users in the application UI, an attacker can easily send a false button press event to the application window and expose the secret information.

Observed Examples 1

CVE-2004-0213Attacker uses Shatter attack to bypass GUI-enforced protection for CVE-2003-0908.

References 1

The CLASP Application Security Process

Secure Software, Inc.

2005

https://cwe.mitre.org/documents/sources/TheCLASPApplicationSecurityProcess.pdf(2024-11-17)

ID: REF-18

Likelihood of Exploit

High

Applicable Platforms

Languages:

Not Language-Specific : Undetermined

Modes of Introduction

Architecture and Design

Implementation

Related Weaknesses

ChildOf:

Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity (CWE-345)

Taxonomy Mapping

CLASP
Software Fault Patterns