CWE-1222 Variante Incompleto

Insufficient Granularity of Address Regions Protected by Register Locks

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware design uses a single lock bit to protect a large, coarse block of memory addresses. This lack of granularity creates a conflict: the system needs to lock…

Definición

What is CWE-1222?

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware design uses a single lock bit to protect a large, coarse block of memory addresses. This lack of granularity creates a conflict: the system needs to lock critical configuration settings early for security, but software also needs to write to other parts of that same address region during normal operation, which the lock incorrectly prevents.
In many systems, a trusted boot process (like the BIOS or bootloader) sets a hardware lock bit to permanently freeze critical configuration registers, preventing malware or errors from altering them later. This lock typically protects an entire predefined address region, not individual registers. However, if this protected region is too large and not finely segmented, it becomes a security and functionality trade-off. Setting the lock too early can block legitimate software from updating necessary settings within that same region, while not setting it leaves the system vulnerable. Fixing this conflict after manufacturing requires a hardware redesign, as the lock granularity is baked into the silicon.
Impacto en el mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-1222

Todavía no hay CVEs públicos enlazados a esta CWE en el catálogo de MITRE.

Cómo lo explotan los atacantes

Ruta del atacante paso a paso

  1. 1

    Identifica una ruta de código que maneje entrada no confiable sin validación.

  2. 2

    Crea un payload que ejercite el comportamiento inseguro — inyección, traversal, overflow o abuso de lógica.

  3. 3

    Envía el payload a través de una solicitud normal y observa la reacción de la aplicación.

  4. 4

    Itera hasta que la respuesta filtre datos, ejecute código del atacante o escale privilegios.

Ejemplo de código vulnerable

Vulnerable Other

For example, consider a hardware unit with a 32 kilobyte configuration address space where the first 8 kilobyte address contains security sensitive controls that must only be writable by device bootloader. One way to protect the security configuration could be to define a 32 bit system configuration locking register (SYS_LOCK) where each bit lock locks the corresponding 1 kilobyte region.

Vulnerable Other 
| Address | Register | 
| --- | --- |
| 0x0000 | SYS_LOCK: 32 bit system configuration lock register, each bit is write-1-once  |
| 0x0004 | SECURITY_FEATURE_ENABLE: 32 bit register controlling enabling of security features  |
| ... |    |
| 0x0310 | SW_MODE: 32 bit Software Mode indication register   |

  | Address region | Lock bit | 
| --- | --- |
| 0x0000 - 0x03FF | SYS_LOCK[0]  |
| 0x0400 - 0x07FF | SYS_LOCK[1]  |
| ... |    |
| 0x7C00 - 0x7FFF | SYS_LOCK[31]  |
Ejemplo de código seguro

Secure pseudo

Seguro 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.
Lista de prevención

How to prevent CWE-1222

  • Architecture and Design The defining of protected locked registers should be reviewed or tested early in the design phase with software teams to ensure software flows are not blocked by the security locks. As an alternative to using register lock control bits and fixed access control regions, the hardware design could use programmable security access control configuration so that device trusted firmware can configure and change the protected regions based on software usage and security models.
Señales de detección

How to detect CWE-1222

SAST High

Ejecuta análisis estático (SAST) sobre el código buscando el patrón inseguro en el flujo de datos.

DAST Moderate

Ejecuta pruebas dinámicas de seguridad de aplicaciones (DAST) contra el endpoint en vivo.

Runtime Moderate

Vigila los logs en tiempo de ejecución para detectar trazas de excepción inusuales, entradas malformadas o intentos de bypass de autorización.

Code review Moderate

Revisión de código: marca cualquier código nuevo que maneje entrada desde esta superficie sin usar los helpers validados del framework.

Auto-corrección de Plexicus

Plexicus detecta automáticamente CWE-1222 y abre un PR de corrección en menos de 60 segundos.

Codex Remedium escanea cada commit, identifica esta debilidad concreta y entrega un pull request listo para revisión con el parche. Sin tickets. Sin traspasos.

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Preguntas frecuentes

Frequently asked questions

¿Qué es CWE-1222?

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware design uses a single lock bit to protect a large, coarse block of memory addresses. This lack of granularity creates a conflict: the system needs to lock critical configuration settings early for security, but software also needs to write to other parts of that same address region during normal operation, which the lock incorrectly prevents.

¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-1222?

MITRE no ha publicado una calificación de probabilidad de explotación para esta debilidad. Trátala como de impacto medio hasta que tu modelo de amenazas demuestre lo contrario.

¿Qué lenguajes o plataformas se ven afectados por CWE-1222?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Not OS-Specific, Not Architecture-Specific, System on Chip.

¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-1222?

The defining of protected locked registers should be reviewed or tested early in the design phase with software teams to ensure software flows are not blocked by the security locks. As an alternative to using register lock control bits and fixed access control regions, the hardware design could use programmable security access control configuration so that device trusted firmware can configure and change the protected regions based on software usage and security models.

¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-1222?

El motor SAST de Plexicus detecta la firma de flujo de datos para CWE-1222 en cada commit. Cuando hay coincidencia, nuestro agente Codex Remedium abre un PR de corrección con el código corregido, las pruebas y un resumen de una línea para el revisor.

¿Dónde puedo aprender más sobre CWE-1222?

MITRE publica la definición canónica en https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1222.html. También puedes consultar la documentación de OWASP y NIST para guías relacionadas.

Debilidades relacionadas

Weaknesses related to CWE-1222

CWE-1220 Padre

Insufficient Granularity of Access Control

This vulnerability occurs when a system's access controls are too broad, allowing unauthorized users or processes to read or modify…

Recursos

Further reading

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