CWE-346 Class Draft

Origin Validation Error

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly confirm the true origin of incoming data or communication, allowing attackers to spoof their source.

Definition

What is CWE-346?

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly confirm the true origin of incoming data or communication, allowing attackers to spoof their source.
Origin Validation Errors happen because applications often trust metadata like IP addresses, DNS names, or HTTP headers that can be easily forged. Attackers exploit this by impersonating legitimate systems, tricking the application into accepting malicious data as if it came from a trusted source. This is a fundamental flaw in the trust boundary of the system. To prevent this, developers must implement robust verification mechanisms that rely on unforgeable credentials, such as cryptographic signatures or secure tokens, rather than easily spoofed information. Always validate the origin at the point of trust establishment and consistently enforce this check for all subsequent interactions.
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-346

  • CVE-2000-1218

    DNS server can accept DNS updates from hosts that it did not query, leading to cache poisoning

  • CVE-2018-6074

    Browser does not set Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) for a downloaded .EXE file if the name is close to the maximum path length, preventing recording of a zone identifier in the filename

  • CVE-2025-0411

    Zip file extraction program does not propagate Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) metadata to files that are extracted from an Internet-downloaded Zip file

  • CVE-2025-46652

    Zip file extraction program does not propagate Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) metadata to files that are extracted from an Internet-downloaded Zip file

  • CVE-2005-0877

    DNS server can accept DNS updates from hosts that it did not query, leading to cache poisoning

  • CVE-2001-1452

    DNS server caches glue records received from non-delegated name servers

  • CVE-2005-2188

    user ID obtained from untrusted source (URL)

  • CVE-2003-0174

    LDAP service does not verify if a particular attribute was set by the LDAP server

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1

    This Android application will remove a user account when it receives an intent to do so:

  2. 2

    This application does not check the origin of the intent, thus allowing any malicious application to remove a user. Always check the origin of an intent, or create an allowlist of trusted applications using the manifest.xml file.

  3. 3

    These Android and iOS applications intercept URL loading within a WebView and perform special actions if a particular URL scheme is used, thus allowing the Javascript within the WebView to communicate with the application:

  4. 4

    A call into native code can then be initiated by passing parameters within the URL:

  5. 5

    Because the application does not check the source, a malicious website loaded within this WebView has the same access to the API as a trusted site.

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable Java

This Android application will remove a user account when it receives an intent to do so:

Verwundbar Java 
IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter("com.example.RemoveUser");
  MyReceiver receiver = new MyReceiver();
  registerReceiver(receiver, filter);
  public class DeleteReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver {
  	@Override
  	public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) {
  		int userID = intent.getIntExtra("userID");
  		destroyUserData(userID);
  	}
  }
Angreifer-Payload

A call into native code can then be initiated by passing parameters within the URL:

Angreifer-Payload JavaScript 
window.location = examplescheme://method?parameter=value
Sicheres Codebeispiel

Secure pseudo

Sicher 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.
Präventions-Checkliste

How to prevent CWE-346

  • Architecture Use safe-by-default frameworks and APIs that prevent the unsafe pattern from being expressible.
  • Implementation Validate input at trust boundaries; use allowlists, not denylists.
  • Implementation Apply the principle of least privilege to credentials, file paths, and runtime permissions.
  • Testing Cover this weakness in CI: SAST rules + targeted unit tests for the data flow.
  • Operation Monitor logs for the runtime signals listed in the next section.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-346

SAST High

Führe statische Analyse (SAST) auf der Codebasis aus und suche im Datenfluss nach dem unsicheren Muster.

DAST Moderate

Führe dynamische Application-Security-Tests gegen den Live-Endpoint aus.

Runtime Moderate

Beobachte Runtime-Logs auf ungewöhnliche Exception-Traces, fehlerhafte Eingaben oder Versuche, Autorisierung zu umgehen.

Code review Moderate

Code Review: Markiere jeden neuen Code, der Eingaben von dieser Oberfläche ohne validierte Framework-Helper verarbeitet.

Plexicus Auto-Fix

Plexicus erkennt CWE-346 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-346?

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly confirm the true origin of incoming data or communication, allowing attackers to spoof their source.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-346?

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-346 betroffen?

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

Wie kann ich CWE-346 verhindern?

Use safe-by-default frameworks, validate untrusted input at trust boundaries, and apply the principle of least privilege. Cover the data-flow signature in CI with SAST.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-346?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-346 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-346?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/346.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-346

CWE-345 Parent

Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly check where data comes from or confirm its legitimacy, allowing untrusted…

CWE-1293 Sibling

Missing Source Correlation of Multiple Independent Data

This vulnerability occurs when a system trusts a single source of data without verification, making it impossible to detect if that source…

CWE-347 Sibling

Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly check the digital signature on data, or skips the verification step…

CWE-348 Sibling

Use of Less Trusted Source

This vulnerability occurs when a system has access to multiple sources for the same critical data, but it chooses to rely on the less…

CWE-349 Sibling

Acceptance of Extraneous Untrusted Data With Trusted Data

This vulnerability occurs when a system processes both trusted and untrusted data together, but fails to separate them. The application…

CWE-351 Sibling

Insufficient Type Distinction

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly differentiate between different types of data or objects, leading to…

CWE-352 Sibling

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF)

Cross-Site Request Forgery (CSRF) happens when a web application cannot reliably tell if a user actually intended to submit a request,…

CWE-353 Sibling

Missing Support for Integrity Check

This vulnerability occurs when a system uses a communication protocol that lacks built-in integrity verification, such as a checksum or…

CWE-354 Sibling

Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value

This vulnerability occurs when software fails to properly check the integrity of data by validating its checksum or hash value. Without…

Ressourcen

Further reading

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