CWE-428 Base Draft

Unquoted Search Path or Element

This vulnerability occurs when a program uses a file path or command that contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotes. The operating system may misinterpret where the executable file is located,…

Definition

What is CWE-428?

This vulnerability occurs when a program uses a file path or command that contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotes. The operating system may misinterpret where the executable file is located, potentially allowing an attacker to run a malicious program with higher privileges.
When a path like `C:\Program Files\MyApp\app.exe` is called without quotes, the system interprets each space as a separator between arguments. It will first try to execute `C:\Program.exe`, then `C:\Program Files\MyApp\app.exe`. If an attacker can place a malicious file named `Program.exe` in the root directory (C:\), the system will run that file instead of the intended application. This is a classic privilege escalation path on Windows systems. If a high-privileged service or user runs a program with an unquoted path, an attacker with write access to a parent directory (like C:\) can plant a malicious executable with a name that matches an earlier segment of the path. The system's search order then executes the attacker's file with the same elevated permissions.
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-428

  • CVE-2005-1185

    Small handful of others. Program doesn't quote the "C:\Program Files\" path when calling a program to be executed - or any other path with a directory or file whose name contains a space - so attacker can put a malicious program.exe into C:.

  • CVE-2005-2938

    CreateProcess() and CreateProcessAsUser() can be misused by applications to allow "program.exe" style attacks in C:

  • CVE-2000-1128

    Applies to "Common Files" folder, with a malicious common.exe, instead of "Program Files"/program.exe.

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1

    Identifiziere einen Codepfad, der nicht vertrauenswürdige Eingaben ohne Validierung verarbeitet.

  2. 2

    Erzeuge eine Payload, die das unsichere Verhalten auslöst — Injection, Traversal, Overflow oder Logik-Missbrauch.

  3. 3

    Liefere die Payload über einen normalen Request aus und beobachte die Reaktion der Anwendung.

  4. 4

    Iteriere, bis die Antwort Daten preisgibt, Angreifer-Code ausführt oder Berechtigungen eskaliert.

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable C

The following example demonstrates the weakness.

Verwundbar C 
UINT errCode = WinExec( "C:\\Program Files\\Foo\\Bar", SW_SHOW );
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-428

  • Implementation Properly quote the full search path before executing a program on the system.
  • Implementation Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue." Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.
  • Implementation Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-428

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-428 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.

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Häufig gestellte Fragen

Frequently asked questions

Was ist CWE-428?

This vulnerability occurs when a program uses a file path or command that contains spaces and is not enclosed in quotes. The operating system may misinterpret where the executable file is located, potentially allowing an attacker to run a malicious program with higher privileges.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-428?

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-428 betroffen?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Windows NT, macOS.

Wie kann ich CWE-428 verhindern?

Properly quote the full search path before executing a program on the system. Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable…

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-428?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-428 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-428?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/428.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-428

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CWE-1327 Sibling

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CWE-1331 Sibling

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CWE-134 Sibling

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CWE-200 Sibling

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CWE-374 Sibling

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CWE-375 Sibling

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Ressourcen

Further reading

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