CWE-378 Base Draft High likelihood

Creation of Temporary File With Insecure Permissions

This vulnerability occurs when a program creates a temporary file but sets its file permissions too loosely, allowing other users or processes on the system to read, modify, or delete the file.

Definition

What is CWE-378?

This vulnerability occurs when a program creates a temporary file but sets its file permissions too loosely, allowing other users or processes on the system to read, modify, or delete the file.
When a temporary file is created with insecure permissions (like world-readable or world-writable), it becomes an easy target for attackers on the same system. They can directly read sensitive data from the file, inject malicious content into it, or even delete it to cause a denial of service. This is especially dangerous because developers often assume temporary files are private and secure, leading them to store sensitive information like session tokens, passwords, or configuration data in them. To prevent this, always use secure APIs designed for temporary file creation that enforce strict permissions by default, such as `mkstemp` on Unix-like systems. If you must use a lower-level function, explicitly set restrictive file permissions immediately after creation. Additionally, consider using alternative, more secure storage methods like memory-based structures for highly sensitive data, and ensure proper file cleanup to reduce the attack window.
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-378

  • CVE-2022-24823

    A network application framework uses the Java function createTempFile(), which will create a file that is readable by other local users of the system

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1

    In the following code examples a temporary file is created and written to. After using the temporary file, the file is closed and deleted from the file system.

  2. 2

    However, within this C/C++ code the method tmpfile() is used to create and open the temp file. The tmpfile() method works the same way as the fopen() method would with read/write permission, allowing attackers to read potentially sensitive information contained in the temp file or modify the contents of the file.

  3. 3

    Similarly, the createTempFile() method used in the Java code creates a temp file that may be readable and writable to all users.

  4. 4

    Additionally both methods used above place the file into a default directory. On UNIX systems the default directory is usually "/tmp" or "/var/tmp" and on Windows systems the default directory is usually "C:\\Windows\\Temp", which may be easily accessible to attackers, possibly enabling them to read and modify the contents of the temp file.

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable C

In the following code examples a temporary file is created and written to. After using the temporary file, the file is closed and deleted from the file system.

Verwundbar C 
FILE *stream;
  if( (stream = tmpfile()) == NULL ) {
  		perror("Could not open new temporary file\n");
  		return (-1);
  }
```
// write data to tmp file* 
  ...
  // remove tmp file
  rmtmp();
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-378

  • Requirements Many contemporary languages have functions which properly handle this condition. Older C temp file functions are especially susceptible.
  • Implementation Ensure that you use proper file permissions. This can be achieved by using a safe temp file function. Temporary files should be writable and readable only by the process that owns the file.
  • Implementation Randomize temporary file names. This can also be achieved by using a safe temp-file function. This will ensure that temporary files will not be created in predictable places.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-378

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-378 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-378?

This vulnerability occurs when a program creates a temporary file but sets its file permissions too loosely, allowing other users or processes on the system to read, modify, or delete the file.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-378?

MITRE stuft die Exploit-Wahrscheinlichkeit als hoch ein — diese Schwachstelle wird aktiv in freier Wildbahn ausgenutzt und sollte priorisiert behoben werden.

Welche Sprachen oder Plattformen sind von CWE-378 betroffen?

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

Wie kann ich CWE-378 verhindern?

Many contemporary languages have functions which properly handle this condition. Older C temp file functions are especially susceptible. Ensure that you use proper file permissions. This can be achieved by using a safe temp file function. Temporary files should be writable and readable only by the process that owns the file.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-378?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-378 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-378?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/378.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-378

CWE-377 Parent

Insecure Temporary File

This vulnerability occurs when an application creates temporary files with insecure permissions or in predictable locations, allowing…

CWE-379 Sibling

Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions

This vulnerability occurs when an application creates a temporary file in a directory that is too permissive, allowing unauthorized users…

Ressourcen

Further reading

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