Ejecuta análisis estático (SAST) sobre el código buscando el patrón inseguro en el flujo de datos.
CWE-1261 Base Borrador
Improper Handling of Single Event Upsets
This vulnerability occurs when hardware logic fails to properly manage single-event upsets (SEUs), which are temporary bit flips caused by environmental factors.
Definición
What is CWE-1261?
This vulnerability occurs when hardware logic fails to properly manage single-event upsets (SEUs), which are temporary bit flips caused by environmental factors.
Modern hardware is becoming more vulnerable to temporary errors called single-event upsets (SEUs). These random bit flips are caused by internal factors like electrical interference or external sources like cosmic radiation. Unlike permanent hardware faults, SEUs are transient but can have serious security consequences if they affect critical system components.
When an SEU occurs in a security-sensitive module—such as a privilege manager or cryptographic engine—it can bypass critical protections. For example, a single bit flip might incorrectly elevate a user's privileges or corrupt cryptographic keys. Developers must design hardware logic with detection and correction mechanisms, like parity checks or error-correcting code (ECC) memory, to prevent these temporary failures from compromising system security.
Impacto en el mundo real
Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-1261
Todavía no hay CVEs públicos enlazados a esta CWE en el catálogo de MITRE.
Cómo lo explotan los atacantes
Ruta del atacante paso a paso
- 1
This is an example from [REF-1089]. See the reference for full details of this issue.
- 2
Parity is error detecting but not error correcting.
- 3
In 2016, a security researcher, who was also a patient using a pacemaker, was on an airplane when a bit flip occurred in the pacemaker, likely due to the higher prevalence of cosmic radiation at such heights. The pacemaker was designed to account for bit flips and went into a default safe mode, which still forced the patient to go to a hospital to get it reset. The bit flip also inadvertently enabled the researcher to access the crash file, perform reverse engineering, and detect a hard-coded key. [REF-1101]
Ejemplo de código vulnerable
Vulnerable Other
Parity is error detecting but not error correcting.
Due to single-event upsets, bits are flipped in memories. As a result, memory-parity checks fail, which results in restart and a temporary denial of service of two to three minutes. Ejemplo de código seguro
Secure Other
Using error-correcting codes could have avoided the restart caused by SEUs. What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.
Lista de prevención
How to prevent CWE-1261
- Architecture and Design Implement triple-modular redundancy around security-sensitive modules.
- Architecture and Design SEUs mostly affect SRAMs. For SRAMs storing security-critical data, implement Error-Correcting-Codes (ECC) and Address Interleaving.
Señales de detección
How to detect CWE-1261
Ejecuta pruebas dinámicas de seguridad de aplicaciones (DAST) contra el endpoint en vivo.
Vigila los logs en tiempo de ejecución para detectar trazas de excepción inusuales, entradas malformadas o intentos de bypass de autorización.
Revisión de código: marca cualquier código nuevo que maneje entrada desde esta superficie sin usar los helpers validados del framework.
CWE-1261
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.
Preguntas frecuentes ¿Qué es CWE-1261?
¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-1261?
¿Qué lenguajes o plataformas se ven afectados por CWE-1261?
¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-1261?
¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-1261?
¿Dónde puedo aprender más sobre CWE-1261?
Frequently asked questions
¿Qué es CWE-1261?
This vulnerability occurs when hardware logic fails to properly manage single-event upsets (SEUs), which are temporary bit flips caused by environmental factors.
¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-1261?
MITRE no ha publicado una calificación de probabilidad de explotación para esta debilidad. Trátala como de impacto medio hasta que tu modelo de amenazas demuestre lo contrario.
¿Qué lenguajes o plataformas se ven afectados por CWE-1261?
MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Not OS-Specific, Not Architecture-Specific, Not Technology-Specific.
¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-1261?
Implement triple-modular redundancy around security-sensitive modules. SEUs mostly affect SRAMs. For SRAMs storing security-critical data, implement Error-Correcting-Codes (ECC) and Address Interleaving.
¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-1261?
El motor SAST de Plexicus detecta la firma de flujo de datos para CWE-1261 en cada commit. Cuando hay coincidencia, nuestro agente Codex Remedium abre un PR de corrección con el código corregido, las pruebas y un resumen de una línea para el revisor.
¿Dónde puedo aprender más sobre CWE-1261?
MITRE publica la definición canónica en https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1261.html. También puedes consultar la documentación de OWASP y NIST para guías relacionadas.
Debilidades relacionadas
Weaknesses related to CWE-1261
CWE-1384 Padre
Improper Handling of Physical or Environmental Conditions
This weakness occurs when a hardware device fails to manage unexpected physical or environmental situations, whether they happen naturally…
CWE-1247 Hermano
Improper Protection Against Voltage and Clock Glitches
This vulnerability occurs when a hardware device lacks proper physical safeguards against deliberate electrical manipulation. Without…
CWE-1332 Hermano
Improper Handling of Faults that Lead to Instruction Skips
This vulnerability occurs when a hardware device lacks or incorrectly implements the necessary circuitry or sensors to detect and respond…
CWE-1351 Hermano
Improper Handling of Hardware Behavior in Exceptionally Cold Environments
This weakness occurs when a hardware device or its firmware lacks proper safeguards to maintain security functions when operated in…
CWE-1254 Par
Incorrect Comparison Logic Granularity
This vulnerability occurs when a system compares sensitive data, like passwords or authentication tokens, piece-by-piece instead of as a…
Recursos
Further reading
- MITRE — CWE-1261 oficial https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1261.html
- Single Event Upset: An Embedded Tutorial https://www.eng.auburn.edu/~agrawvd/TALKS/tutorial_6pg.pdf
- Single Event Upsets in Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?arnumber=736549&tag=1
- Single Event Effects in FPGA Devices 2015-2016 https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20160007754
- Cisco 12000 Single Event Upset Failures Overview and Work Around Summary https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/support/docs/field-notices/200/fn25994.html
- Different Ways to Mitigate Soft Errors in Asynchronous SRAMs - KBA90939 https://community.infineon.com/t5/Knowledge-Base-Articles/Different-Ways-to-Mitigate-Soft-Errors-in-Asynchronous-SRAMs-KBA90939/ta-p/257944
- Cosmic particles can change elections and cause plans to fall through the sky, scientists warn https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/subatomic-particles-cosmic-rays-computers-change-elections-planes-autopilot-a7584616.html
¿Listo para validar lo que importa?
Listo para validar lo que importa.
Plexicus es Proof-Driven AppSec: hallazgos validados, comprensión contextual y remediación revisada — anclada en evidencia, acotada contigo.