Category: Limit Exposure
Draft
Summary
Weaknesses in this category are related to the design and architecture of the entry points to a system. Frequently these deal with minimizing the attack surface through designing the system with the least needed amount of entry points. The weaknesses in this category could lead to a degradation of a system's defenses if they are not addressed when designing or implementing a secure architecture.
Membership
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-210 | Self-generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information | This vulnerability occurs when an application detects a problem and generates its own error messages that accidentally expose sensitive system or user data. |
| CWE-211 | Externally-Generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information | This vulnerability occurs when an application triggers an error message from an external component—like a database, interpreter, or operating system—and that error reveals sensitive details about the system's internal workings, configuration, or data. |
| CWE-214 | 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 command-line arguments or environment variables. Because this information is often visible to other processes on the system, it can be easily exposed. |
| CWE-550 | Server-generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information | This vulnerability occurs when a web application or server returns detailed error messages that reveal sensitive internal information about the system. |
| CWE-829 | Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere | This weakness occurs when an application integrates executable code, like a library or plugin, from a source it does not fully control or trust. |
| CWE-830 | Inclusion of Web Functionality from an Untrusted Source | This vulnerability occurs when a web application directly imports and executes functionality, like a widget or script, from an external, untrusted domain. Because the imported code runs within your application's own security context (origin), it gains the same level of access to user data and the DOM as your own code, potentially giving the third party full control. |
| CWE-1008 | Architectural Concepts | This view organizes weaknesses according to common architectural security tactics. It is intended to assist architects in identifying potential mistakes that can be made when designing software. |
Vulnerability Mapping Notes
Usage: Prohibited
Reasons: Category
Rationale:
This entry is a Category. Using categories for mapping has been discouraged since 2019. Categories are informal organizational groupings of weaknesses that can help CWE users with data aggregation, navigation, and browsing. However, they are not weaknesses in themselves.
Comment:
See member weaknesses of this category.