CWE-583 Variant Incomplete

finalize() Method Declared Public

This vulnerability occurs when a Java class declares its finalize() method as public, violating secure coding practices for mobile code.

Definition

What is CWE-583?

This vulnerability occurs when a Java class declares its finalize() method as public, violating secure coding practices for mobile code.
In Java, the finalize() method is a special method called by the garbage collector before an object is destroyed. Declaring it as public breaks the intended contract, as this method should only ever be invoked automatically by the JVM's garbage collection process, not directly by application code. Explicit calls to finalize() are strongly discouraged and are a common source of errors and unpredictable behavior. For mobile code, such as applets or frameworks where code is downloaded and executed remotely, this flaw becomes a direct security threat. An attacker could exploit the publicly accessible finalize() method to trigger malicious logic, interfere with object cleanup, or cause a denial of service by manually invoking garbage collection routines. The secure practice is to always declare finalize() as protected, and within it, only call super.finalize().
Auswirkungen in der Praxis

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-583

Bisher sind in MITREs Katalog keine öffentlichen CVE-Referenzen mit dieser CWE verknüpft.

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 Java

The following Java Applet code mistakenly declares a public finalize() method.

Verwundbar Java 
public final class urlTool extends Applet {
  	public void finalize() {
  		...
  	}
  	...
  }
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-583

  • Implementation If you are using finalize() as it was designed, there is no reason to declare finalize() with anything other than protected access.
Erkennungssignale

How to detect CWE-583

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-583 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-583?

This vulnerability occurs when a Java class declares its finalize() method as public, violating secure coding practices for mobile code.

Wie gravierend ist CWE-583?

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-583 betroffen?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Java.

Wie kann ich CWE-583 verhindern?

If you are using finalize() as it was designed, there is no reason to declare finalize() with anything other than protected access.

Wie erkennt und behebt Plexicus CWE-583?

Die SAST-Engine von Plexicus erkennt die Datenfluss-Signatur von CWE-583 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-583?

MITRE veröffentlicht die kanonische Definition unter https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/583.html. Für ergänzende Hinweise kannst du auch die OWASP- und NIST-Dokumentation heranziehen.

Verwandte Schwachstellen

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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

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

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CWE-375 Sibling

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Ressourcen

Further reading

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