CWE-548: Exposure of Information Through Directory Listing

Définition

What is CWE-548?

This vulnerability occurs when a web server is misconfigured to display a full list of files within a directory instead of serving a default web page, unintentionally exposing sensitive resources to anyone who visits the URL.

Directory listings happen when a web server (like Apache, Nginx, or IIS) can't find a default index file (e.g., index.html) and its configuration allows it to show the folder's contents. This acts as a roadmap for attackers, revealing backup files, configuration scripts, temporary uploads, or administrative interfaces that were never meant to be public. A simple manual check or a DAST scan can easily uncover this issue. Prevention involves configuring your server to disable directory listings and always ensuring a default index page exists. For developers, this means checking server configuration files for directives like 'Options -Indexes' in Apache or 'autoindex off' in Nginx. Managing this at scale across hundreds of services is difficult; an ASPM like Plexicus can help you continuously track and automatically flag these misconfigurations across your entire application portfolio.

Impact réel

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-548

Aucune référence CVE publique n'est liée à ce CWE dans le catalogue MITRE pour le moment.

Comment les attaquants l'exploitent

Parcours de l'attaquant étape par étape

1
Identifier un chemin de code qui traite des entrées non fiables sans validation.
2
Élaborer une charge utile qui exploite le comportement non sécurisé — injection, traversal, débordement ou abus de logique.
3
Délivrer la charge utile via une requête normale et observer la réaction de l'application.
4
Itérer jusqu'à ce que la réponse divulgue des données, exécute le code de l'attaquant ou élève les privilèges.

Exemple de code vulnérable

Vulnerable pseudo

MITRE n'a pas publié d'exemple de code pour ce CWE. Le motif ci-dessous est illustratif — voir Ressources pour les références canoniques.

Vulnérable pseudo

// Example pattern — see MITRE for the canonical references.
function handleRequest(input) {
  // Untrusted input flows directly into the sensitive sink.
  return executeUnsafe(input);
}

Exemple de code sécurisé

Secure pseudo

Sécurisé 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.

Liste de contrôle de prévention

How to prevent CWE-548

Architecture and Design / System Configuration Recommendations include restricting access to important directories or files by adopting a need to know requirement for both the document and server root, and turning off features such as Automatic Directory Listings that could expose private files and provide information that could be utilized by an attacker when formulating or conducting an attack.

Signaux de détection

How to detect CWE-548

Automated Static Analysis High

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.)

CWE-548

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.

Request AI Swarm Pentest

Questions fréquentes

Frequently asked questions

Qu'est-ce que CWE-548 ?

This vulnerability occurs when a web server is misconfigured to display a full list of files within a directory instead of serving a default web page, unintentionally exposing sensitive resources to anyone who visits the URL.

Quelle est la gravité de CWE-548 ?

MITRE n'a pas publié de note de probabilité d'exploitation pour cette faiblesse. Traitez-la comme un impact moyen jusqu'à ce que votre modèle de menace prouve le contraire.

Quels langages ou plateformes sont affectés par CWE-548 ?

MITRE n'a pas spécifié les plateformes affectées pour ce CWE — il peut s'appliquer à la plupart des stacks applicatives.

Comment puis-je prévenir CWE-548 ?

Recommendations include restricting access to important directories or files by adopting a need to know requirement for both the document and server root, and turning off features such as Automatic Directory Listings that could expose private files and provide information that could be utilized by an attacker when formulating or conducting an attack.

Comment Plexicus détecte et corrige CWE-548 ?

Le moteur SAST de Plexicus reconnaît la signature de flux de données de CWE-548 à chaque commit. Lorsqu'une correspondance est trouvée, notre agent Codex Remedium ouvre une PR de correction avec le code corrigé, les tests et un résumé d'une ligne pour le relecteur.

Où puis-je en savoir plus sur CWE-548 ?

MITRE publie la définition canonique à https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/548.html. Vous pouvez également consulter la documentation OWASP et NIST pour des conseils adjacents.

Faiblesses associées

Weaknesses related to CWE-548

CWE-497 Parent

Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere

This vulnerability occurs when an application unintentionally reveals sensitive details about its underlying system, such as file paths,…

CWE-214 Frère

Invocation of Process Using Visible Sensitive Information

This vulnerability occurs when a process is started with sensitive data, such as passwords or API keys, passed directly in its…

Ressources

Prêt à valider ce qui compte.

Plexicus est Proof-Driven AppSec : findings validés, compréhension contextuelle et remédiation relue — ancrée dans la preuve, scopée avec vous.

Réserver un Pentest

Exposure of Information Through Directory Listing