Category: Data Integrity Issues

Draft
Summary

Weaknesses in this category are related to a software system's data integrity components. Frequently these deal with the ability to ensure the integrity of data, such as messages, resource files, deployment files, and configuration files. The weaknesses in this category could lead to a degradation of data integrity quality if they are not addressed.

Membership
IDNameDescription
CWE-322Key Exchange without Entity AuthenticationThis vulnerability occurs when a system establishes a cryptographic key with another party without first confirming that party's true identity.
CWE-346Origin Validation ErrorThis vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly confirm the true origin of incoming data or communication, allowing attackers to spoof their source.
CWE-347Improper Verification of Cryptographic SignatureThis vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly check the digital signature on data, or skips the verification step entirely, allowing tampered or forged information to be accepted as legitimate.
CWE-348Use of Less Trusted SourceThis vulnerability occurs when a system has access to multiple sources for the same critical data, but it chooses to rely on the less secure or less trustworthy one. This creates a security gap because the system ignores better-protected alternatives that offer stronger verification or are harder for attackers to compromise.
CWE-349Acceptance of Extraneous Untrusted Data With Trusted DataThis vulnerability occurs when a system processes both trusted and untrusted data together, but fails to separate them. The application incorrectly treats all incoming data—including the untrusted portion—with the same level of trust as the legitimate data.
CWE-351Insufficient Type DistinctionThis vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly differentiate between different types of data or objects, leading to unintended and insecure behavior.
CWE-353Missing Support for Integrity CheckThis vulnerability occurs when a system uses a communication protocol that lacks built-in integrity verification, such as a checksum or cryptographic hash, to detect if data has been altered or corrupted during transmission.
CWE-354Improper Validation of Integrity Check ValueThis vulnerability occurs when software fails to properly check the integrity of data by validating its checksum or hash value. Without this verification, the application cannot reliably detect if information has been altered, corrupted, or tampered with during storage or transmission.
CWE-494Download of Code Without Integrity CheckThis vulnerability occurs when an application fetches and runs code from an external source—like a remote server or CDN—without properly verifying where it came from or ensuring it hasn't been tampered with.
CWE-565Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity CheckingThis vulnerability occurs when an application uses cookies to make security decisions—like granting access or changing settings—but fails to verify that the cookie data is legitimate, unaltered, and belongs to the current user.
CWE-649Reliance on Obfuscation or Encryption of Security-Relevant Inputs without Integrity CheckingThis vulnerability occurs when an application uses obfuscation or encryption to hide security-sensitive data (like tokens or parameters) but fails to verify whether that data has been altered. Without integrity checks, the system cannot detect if an attacker has tampered with these inputs.
CWE-829Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control SphereThis weakness occurs when an application integrates executable code, like a library or plugin, from a source it does not fully control or trust.
CWE-924Improper Enforcement of Message Integrity During Transmission in a Communication ChannelThis vulnerability occurs when an application receives data over a network but fails to properly verify that the information wasn't altered in transit.
CWE-699Software DevelopmentThis view organizes weaknesses around concepts that are frequently used or encountered in software development. This includes all aspects of the software development lifecycle including both architecture and implementation. Accordingly, this view can align closely with the perspectives of architects, developers, educators, and assessment vendors. It provides a variety of categories that are intended to simplify navigation, browsing, and mapping.
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.