CWE-282 Class Draft

Improper Ownership Management

This vulnerability occurs when a system incorrectly assigns or fails to verify which user or process rightfully controls a specific object or resource.

Definition

What is CWE-282?

This vulnerability occurs when a system incorrectly assigns or fails to verify which user or process rightfully controls a specific object or resource.
At its core, this flaw is about broken trust in access control. It happens when software doesn't properly track or validate the true 'owner' of a file, memory block, database record, or system object. This can allow unauthorized users to delete, modify, or access resources they shouldn't, simply because the system believes they own them. Think of it as handing your house keys to a stranger because a faulty system incorrectly listed them as the homeowner. For developers, the main risk is that operations which should be restricted to a resource's creator—like deletion or permission changes—become available to others. To prevent this, always explicitly validate ownership through a trusted authority (like a kernel or central service) before performing sensitive actions. Never rely on unverified user-supplied claims or transient identifiers that can be forged or reused. Implement clear, centralized ownership lifecycle management for all critical resources.
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-282

  • CVE-1999-1125

    Program runs setuid root but relies on a configuration file owned by a non-root user.

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1

    This function is part of a privileged program that takes input from users with potentially lower privileges.

  2. 2

    This code does not confirm that the process to be killed is owned by the requesting user, thus allowing an attacker to kill arbitrary processes.

  3. 3

    This function remedies the problem by checking the owner of the process before killing it:

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable Python

This function is part of a privileged program that takes input from users with potentially lower privileges.

Verwundbar Python 
def killProcess(processID):
  	os.kill(processID, signal.SIGKILL)
Sicheres Codebeispiel

Secure Python

This function remedies the problem by checking the owner of the process before killing it:

Sicher Python 
def killProcess(processID):
  		user = getCurrentUser()
```
#Check process owner against requesting user* 
  		if getProcessOwner(processID) == user:
  		```
  			os.kill(processID, signal.SIGKILL)
  			return
  		else:
  			print("You cannot kill a process you don't own")
  			return
What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.
Präventions-Checkliste

How to prevent CWE-282

  • Architecture and Design / Operation Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-282

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.)

Plexicus Auto-Fix

Plexicus erkennt CWE-282 automatisch und öffnet in unter 60 Sekunden einen Fix-PR.

Codex Remedium scannt jeden Commit, identifiziert genau diese Schwachstelle und liefert einen reviewer-ready Pull Request mit dem Patch. Keine Tickets. Keine Hand-offs.

Demo anfordern Plexicus kostenlos testen
Häufig gestellte Fragen

Frequently asked questions

Was ist CWE-282?

This vulnerability occurs when a system incorrectly assigns or fails to verify which user or process rightfully controls a specific object or resource.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-282?

MITRE hat für diese Schwachstelle keine Exploit-Wahrscheinlichkeit veröffentlicht. Behandle sie als mittlere Auswirkung, bis dein Threat Model anderes belegt.

Welche Sprachen oder Plattformen sind von CWE-282 betroffen?

MITRE hat für diese CWE keine betroffenen Plattformen spezifiziert — sie kann in den meisten Anwendungs-Stacks auftreten.

Wie kann ich CWE-282 verhindern?

Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-282?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-282 bei jedem Commit. Bei einem Treffer öffnet unser Codex-Remedium-Agent einen Fix-PR mit korrigiertem Code, Tests und einer einzeiligen Zusammenfassung für den Reviewer.

Wo erfahre ich mehr über CWE-282?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/282.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-282

CWE-284 Parent

Improper Access Control

The software fails to properly limit who can access a resource, allowing unauthorized users or systems to interact with it.

CWE-1191 Sibling

On-Chip Debug and Test Interface With Improper Access Control

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware chip's debug or test interface (like JTAG) lacks proper access controls. Without correct…

CWE-1220 Sibling

Insufficient Granularity of Access Control

This vulnerability occurs when a system's access controls are too broad, allowing unauthorized users or processes to read or modify…

CWE-1224 Sibling

Improper Restriction of Write-Once Bit Fields

This vulnerability occurs when hardware write-once protection mechanisms, often called 'sticky bits,' are incorrectly implemented,…

CWE-1231 Sibling

Improper Prevention of Lock Bit Modification

This vulnerability occurs when hardware or firmware uses a lock bit to protect critical system registers or memory regions, but fails to…

CWE-1233 Sibling

Security-Sensitive Hardware Controls with Missing Lock Bit Protection

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware device uses a lock bit to protect critical configuration registers, but the lock fails to…

CWE-1252 Sibling

CPU Hardware Not Configured to Support Exclusivity of Write and Execute Operations

This vulnerability occurs when a CPU's hardware is not set up to enforce a strict separation between writing data to memory and executing…

CWE-1257 Sibling

Improper Access Control Applied to Mirrored or Aliased Memory Regions

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware design maps the same physical memory to multiple addresses (aliasing or mirroring) but fails to…

CWE-1259 Sibling

Improper Restriction of Security Token Assignment

This vulnerability occurs when a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) fails to properly secure its Security Token mechanism. These tokens control which…

Ressourcen

Further reading

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