Ejecuta análisis estático (SAST) sobre el código buscando el patrón inseguro en el flujo de datos.
CWE-280 Base Borrador
Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges
This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly manage situations where it lacks the necessary permissions to perform an action or access a resource. This flawed handling can force the…
Definición
What is CWE-280?
This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly manage situations where it lacks the necessary permissions to perform an action or access a resource. This flawed handling can force the application into unintended states or error paths, potentially leading to crashes, data corruption, or security bypasses.
At its core, this weakness is about poor error handling for authorization checks. Instead of gracefully denying access and logging the event, the application might try to proceed with insufficient rights, triggering unexpected behavior in the code. This often stems from assuming permissions will always be sufficient or from catching a broad exception without specifically managing access-denied errors.
For developers, the risk is that these unhandled permission failures create unstable conditions. The application could expose internal errors to users, corrupt its own state, or inadvertently allow actions it shouldn't. To prevent this, explicitly validate permissions before acting and implement robust, specific error handlers for authorization failures that safely guide the application back to a secure, valid state.
Impacto en el mundo real
Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-280
-
Special file system allows attackers to prevent ownership/permission change of certain entries by opening the entries before calling a setuid program.
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FTP server places a user in the root directory when the user's permissions prevent access to the their own home directory.
Cómo lo explotan los atacantes
Ruta del atacante paso a paso
- 1
Identifica una ruta de código que maneje entrada no confiable sin validación.
- 2
Crea un payload que ejercite el comportamiento inseguro — inyección, traversal, overflow o abuso de lógica.
- 3
Envía el payload a través de una solicitud normal y observa la reacción de la aplicación.
- 4
Itera hasta que la respuesta filtre datos, ejecute código del atacante o escale privilegios.
Ejemplo de código vulnerable
Vulnerable pseudo
MITRE no ha publicado un ejemplo de código para esta CWE. El patrón siguiente es ilustrativo — consulta Recursos para referencias canónicas.
// Example pattern — see MITRE for the canonical references.
function handleRequest(input) {
// Untrusted input flows directly into the sensitive sink.
return executeUnsafe(input);
} Ejemplo de código seguro
Secure 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.
Lista de prevención
How to prevent CWE-280
- Architecture and Design Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to decide the appropriate time to use privileges and the time to drop privileges.
- Implementation Always check to see if you have successfully accessed a resource or system functionality, and use proper error handling if it is unsuccessful. Do this even when you are operating in a highly privileged mode, because errors or environmental conditions might still cause a failure. For example, environments with highly granular permissions/privilege models, such as Windows or Linux capabilities, can cause unexpected failures.
Señales de detección
How to detect CWE-280
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-280
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-280?
¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-280?
¿Qué lenguajes o plataformas se ven afectados por CWE-280?
¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-280?
¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-280?
¿Dónde puedo aprender más sobre CWE-280?
Frequently asked questions
¿Qué es CWE-280?
This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly manage situations where it lacks the necessary permissions to perform an action or access a resource. This flawed handling can force the application into unintended states or error paths, potentially leading to crashes, data corruption, or security bypasses.
¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-280?
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-280?
MITRE no ha especificado plataformas afectadas para esta CWE — puede aplicar a la mayoría de los stacks de aplicaciones.
¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-280?
Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least privilege to…
¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-280?
El motor SAST de Plexicus detecta la firma de flujo de datos para CWE-280 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-280?
MITRE publica la definición canónica en https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/280.html. También puedes consultar la documentación de OWASP y NIST para guías relacionadas.
Debilidades relacionadas
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