Category: ICS Dependencies (& Architecture): External Digital Systems
Incomplete
Summary
Weaknesses in this category are related to the "External Digital Systems" category from the SEI ETF "Categories of Security Vulnerabilities in ICS" as published in March 2022: "Due to the highly interconnected technologies in use, an external dependency on another digital system could cause a confidentiality, integrity, or availability incident for the protected system." Note: members of this category include "Nearest IT Neighbor" recommendations from the report, as well as suggestions by the CWE team. These relationships are likely to change in future CWE versions.
Membership
| ID | Name | Description |
|---|---|---|
| CWE-1059 | Insufficient Technical Documentation | This weakness occurs when a software or hardware product lacks comprehensive technical documentation. Missing or incomplete details about the system's architecture, interfaces, design, configuration, or operation make it difficult to understand, maintain, and secure the product effectively. |
| CWE-1068 | Inconsistency Between Implementation and Documented Design | This weakness occurs when the actual code implementation deviates from the intended design described in its official documentation, creating a mismatch between how the system is supposed to work and how it actually does. |
| CWE-1104 | Use of Unmaintained Third Party Components | This weakness occurs when software depends on third-party libraries, frameworks, or modules that are no longer actively updated or supported by their creators or a trusted maintainer. |
| CWE-1329 | Reliance on Component That is Not Updateable | This vulnerability occurs when a product depends on a component that cannot be updated or patched to fix security flaws or critical bugs. |
| CWE-1357 | Reliance on Insufficiently Trustworthy Component | This weakness occurs when a system integrates a component that cannot be fully trusted to meet security, reliability, and maintenance standards, creating risk for the entire product. |
| CWE-1393 | Use of Default Password | This vulnerability occurs when a system or device uses a pre-configured, publicly known password for authentication, often for administrative or critical functions. |
| CWE-15 | External Control of System or Configuration Setting | This vulnerability occurs when an application allows users to directly modify critical system settings or configuration values from an external source. |
| CWE-287 | Improper Authentication | Improper Authentication occurs when a system fails to properly verify a user's claimed identity, allowing access without sufficient proof of who they are. |
| CWE-306 | Missing Authentication for Critical Function | This vulnerability occurs when a software feature that performs a sensitive action or uses significant system resources does not verify the user's identity before executing. Attackers can exploit this to trigger critical functions without any credentials. |
| CWE-308 | Use of Single-factor Authentication | Relying solely on single-factor authentication, like a password, exposes systems to significant security risks because it depends on only one type of proof for verifying a user's identity. |
| CWE-312 | Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information | This vulnerability occurs when an application stores sensitive data like passwords, credit card numbers, or personal information in plain text, without any encryption. This unsecured data is kept in files, databases, caches, or logs that could be accessed by unauthorized users or systems. |
| CWE-440 | Expected Behavior Violation | This weakness occurs when a software component, such as a function, API, or feature, fails to act as documented or intended. The system's actual behavior deviates from its promised specification, leading to unpredictable results. |
| CWE-470 | Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection') | This vulnerability occurs when an application uses unvalidated external input, like a URL parameter or form field, to dynamically decide which class to load or which method to execute via reflection. An attacker can manipulate this input to force the application to load unexpected, potentially malicious code. |
| CWE-603 | Use of Client-Side Authentication | This vulnerability occurs when an application places its authentication logic solely within the client-side code, such as in a mobile app or web browser, without enforcing the same checks on the server. Attackers can bypass authentication by modifying the client to skip these checks entirely. |
| CWE-610 | Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere | This vulnerability occurs when an application uses user-supplied input to reference a resource located outside its intended security boundary, allowing attackers to redirect operations to unintended locations. |
| CWE-638 | Not Using Complete Mediation | This vulnerability occurs when software fails to verify access permissions every single time a user or process tries to use a resource. Instead, it might rely on a single, outdated check, creating a security gap if the user's privileges are later revoked or changed. |
| CWE-1358 | Weaknesses in SEI ETF Categories of Security Vulnerabilities in ICS | CWE entries in this view (graph) are associated with the Categories of Security Vulnerabilities in ICS, as published by the Securing Energy Infrastructure Executive Task Force (SEI ETF) in March 2022. Weaknesses and categories in this view are focused on issues that affect ICS (Industrial Control Systems) but have not been traditionally covered by CWE in the past due to its earlier emphasis on enterprise IT software. Note: weaknesses in this view are based on "Nearest IT Neighbor" recommendations and other suggestions by the CWE team. These relationships are likely to change in future CWE versions. |
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.