CWE-552 Base Draft

Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties

This vulnerability occurs when an application exposes files or directories to users who shouldn't have access to them.

Definition

What is CWE-552?

This vulnerability occurs when an application exposes files or directories to users who shouldn't have access to them.
This commonly happens in web servers, FTP servers, or similar systems where files are stored under a publicly accessible root directory. If the application doesn't implement proper access controls, sensitive files placed in or under this directory can be requested and retrieved by unauthorized users. The same risk applies when applications package files into archives (like ZIP or tar files) without first filtering out confidential documents from the included directories. In modern cloud and container environments, this flaw often appears as misconfigured storage buckets or file shares that are open to public or anonymous access. Managing this at scale is difficult; an ASPM like Plexicus can help you track and remediate these configuration flaws across your entire stack, from code to cloud.
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-552

Wie Angreifer es ausnutzen

Angreiferpfad Schritt für Schritt

  1. 1

    The following Azure command updates the settings for a storage account:

  2. 2

    However, "Allow Blob Public Access" is set to true, meaning that anonymous/public users can access blobs.

  3. 3

    The command could be modified to disable "Allow Blob Public Access" by setting it to false.

  4. 4

    The following Google Cloud Storage command gets the settings for a storage account named 'BUCKET_NAME':

  5. 5

    Suppose the command returns the following result:

Verwundbares Codebeispiel

Vulnerable Shell

The following Azure command updates the settings for a storage account:

Verwundbar Shell 
az storage account update --name <storage-account> --resource-group <resource-group> --allow-blob-public-access true
Sicheres Codebeispiel

Secure Shell

The command could be modified to disable "Allow Blob Public Access" by setting it to false.

Sicher Shell 
az storage account update --name <storage-account> --resource-group <resource-group> --allow-blob-public-access false
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-552

  • Implementation / System Configuration / Operation When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-552

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-552 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-552?

This vulnerability occurs when an application exposes files or directories to users who shouldn't have access to them.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-552?

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-552 betroffen?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Not Technology-Specific, Cloud Computing.

Wie kann ich CWE-552 verhindern?

When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-552?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-552 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-552?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/552.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

Weaknesses related to CWE-552

CWE-668 Parent

Exposure of Resource to Wrong Sphere

This vulnerability occurs when an application unintentionally makes a resource accessible to users or systems that should not have…

CWE-1189 Sibling

Improper Isolation of Shared Resources on System-on-a-Chip (SoC)

This vulnerability occurs when a System-on-a-Chip (SoC) fails to properly separate shared hardware resources between secure (trusted) and…

CWE-1282 Sibling

Assumed-Immutable Data is Stored in Writable Memory

This vulnerability occurs when data that should be permanent and unchangeable—like a bootloader, device IDs, or one-time configuration…

CWE-1327 Sibling

Binding to an Unrestricted IP Address

This vulnerability occurs when software or a service is configured to bind to the IP address 0.0.0.0 (or :: in IPv6), which acts as a…

CWE-1331 Sibling

Improper Isolation of Shared Resources in Network On Chip (NoC)

This vulnerability occurs when a Network on Chip (NoC) fails to properly separate its internal, shared resources—like buffers, switches,…

CWE-134 Sibling

Use of Externally-Controlled Format String

This vulnerability occurs when a program uses a format string from an untrusted, external source (like user input, a network packet, or a…

CWE-200 Sibling

Exposure of Sensitive Information to an Unauthorized Actor

This weakness occurs when an application unintentionally reveals sensitive data to someone who shouldn't have access to it.

CWE-374 Sibling

Passing Mutable Objects to an Untrusted Method

This vulnerability occurs when a function receives a direct reference to mutable data, such as an object or array, instead of a safe copy…

CWE-375 Sibling

Returning a Mutable Object to an Untrusted Caller

This vulnerability occurs when a method directly returns a reference to its internal mutable data, allowing untrusted calling code to…

Ressourcen

Further reading

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