CWE-1249: Application-Level Admin Tool with Inconsistent View of Underlying Operating System

Definition

What is CWE-1249?

This vulnerability occurs when an administrative tool (like a web interface or API) fails to accurately display the true state of the underlying operating system it manages. The tool's view becomes inconsistent with reality, hiding critical resources like user accounts, processes, or files from the administrator.

Administrative tools for cloud platforms, network devices, or IoT systems often manage OS-level resources like user accounts. A critical security gap emerges when this management layer loses synchronization with the actual OS state. For instance, if an attacker adds a user account directly to the OS, this 'ghost account' might remain invisible in the admin panel. This discrepancy allows malicious activity to go undetected, as administrators rely on an incomplete and misleading view of their system's security posture. Attackers exploit this weakness by creating persistent backdoor accounts, often by chaining it with other vulnerabilities like command injection or logic flaws. A rogue administrator could also hide accounts for later use. Since the management tool doesn't reflect these changes, standard administrative reviews won't uncover them, allowing threats to persist undetected. Ensuring the management application's data model is always synchronized with a single, authoritative source of truth in the OS is essential for maintaining visibility and control.

Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-1249

Bisher sind in MITREs Katalog keine öffentlichen CVE-Referenzen mit dieser CWE verknüpft.

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

1
Suppose that an attacker successfully gains root privileges on a Linux system and adds a new 'user2' account:
2
This new user2 account would not be noticed on the web interface, if the interface does not refresh its data of available users.
3
It could be argued that for this specific example, an attacker with root privileges would be likely to compromise the admin tool or otherwise feed it with false data. However, this example shows how the discrepancy in critical data can help attackers to escape detection.

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable Other

Suppose that an attacker successfully gains root privileges on a Linux system and adds a new 'user2' account:

Verwundbar Other

echo "user2:x:0:0::/root:/" >> /etc/passwd;
  echo "user2:\$6\$IdvyrM6VJnG8Su5U\$1gmW3Nm.IO4vxTQDQ1C8urm72JCadOHZQwqiH/nRtL8dPY80xS4Ovsv5bPCMWnXKKWwmsocSWXupUf17LB3oS.:17256:0:99999:7:::" >> /etc/shadow;

Angreifer-Payload

Suppose that an attacker successfully gains root privileges on a Linux system and adds a new 'user2' account:

Angreifer-Payload Other

echo "user2:x:0:0::/root:/" >> /etc/passwd;
  echo "user2:\$6\$IdvyrM6VJnG8Su5U\$1gmW3Nm.IO4vxTQDQ1C8urm72JCadOHZQwqiH/nRtL8dPY80xS4Ovsv5bPCMWnXKKWwmsocSWXupUf17LB3oS.:17256:0:99999:7:::" >> /etc/shadow;

Sicheres Codebeispiel

Secure pseudo

Sicher pseudo

// Validate, sanitize, or use a safe API before reaching the sink.
function handleRequest(input) {
  const safe = validateAndEscape(input);
  return executeWithGuards(safe);
}

What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.

Präventions-Checkliste

How to prevent CWE-1249

Architecture and Design Ensure that the admin tool refreshes its model of the underlying OS on a regular basis, and note any inconsistencies with configuration files or other data sources that are expected to have the same data.

Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-1249

SAST High

Führe statische Analyse (SAST) auf der Codebasis aus und suche im Datenfluss nach dem unsicheren Muster.

DAST Moderate

Führe dynamische Application-Security-Tests gegen den Live-Endpoint aus.

Runtime Moderate

Beobachte Runtime-Logs auf ungewöhnliche Exception-Traces, fehlerhafte Eingaben oder Versuche, Autorisierung zu umgehen.

Code review Moderate

Code Review: Markiere jeden neuen Code, der Eingaben von dieser Oberfläche ohne validierte Framework-Helper verarbeitet.

CWE-1249

Don't catalog this weakness. Prove it's reachable.

Plexicus turns CWE catalogs into evidence: every CWE-pattern is matched against your real code graph, reach is proven on a sandbox clone, and verified findings ship as reviewed PRs.

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Häufig gestellte Fragen

Frequently asked questions

Was ist CWE-1249?

This vulnerability occurs when an administrative tool (like a web interface or API) fails to accurately display the true state of the underlying operating system it manages. The tool's view becomes inconsistent with reality, hiding critical resources like user accounts, processes, or files from the administrator.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-1249?

MITRE hat für diese Schwachstelle keine Exploit-Wahrscheinlichkeit veröffentlicht. Behandle sie als mittlere Auswirkung, bis dein Threat Model anderes belegt.

Welche Sprachen oder Plattformen sind von CWE-1249 betroffen?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Not OS-Specific, Web Based.

Wie kann ich CWE-1249 verhindern?

Ensure that the admin tool refreshes its model of the underlying OS on a regular basis, and note any inconsistencies with configuration files or other data sources that are expected to have the same data.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-1249?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-1249 bei jedem Commit. Bei einem Treffer öffnet unser Codex-Remedium-Agent einen Fix-PR mit korrigiertem Code, Tests und einer einzeiligen Zusammenfassung für den Reviewer.

Wo erfahre ich mehr über CWE-1249?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1249.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-1249

CWE-1250 Parent

Improper Preservation of Consistency Between Independent Representations of Shared State

This vulnerability occurs when a system with multiple independent components (like distributed services or separate hardware units) each…

CWE-1251 Sibling

Mirrored Regions with Different Values

This vulnerability occurs when a system maintains duplicate copies of data or resources (like cached memory or shadow registers) but fails…

Ressourcen

Bereit zu validieren, was zählt.

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Application-Level Admin Tool with Inconsistent View of Underlying Operating System