CWE-610 Clase Borrador

Externally Controlled Reference to a Resource in Another Sphere

This vulnerability occurs when an application uses user-supplied input to reference a resource located outside its intended security boundary, allowing attackers to redirect operations to unintended…

Definición

What is CWE-610?

This vulnerability occurs when an application uses user-supplied input to reference a resource located outside its intended security boundary, allowing attackers to redirect operations to unintended locations.
This flaw typically happens when developers treat all resource identifiers (like filenames, URLs, or keys) as safe, even when they come from untrusted sources like user input, configuration files, or API responses. Attackers exploit this by injecting paths or references that "escape" the application's intended directory, server, or cloud environment—often using sequences like `../` to traverse directories or full URLs to external systems. The core issue is a failure to validate that a referenced resource actually resides within the allowed security sphere before accessing it. To prevent this, always validate and sanitize all resource references against an allow-list of permitted locations. Implement strict access controls and use mechanisms like chroot jails, container boundaries, or signed URLs to enforce isolation. Never rely solely on input filtering; instead, design your system to map user-provided identifiers to actual resources through an indirect reference map or lookup table that you fully control.
Impacto en el mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-610

  • CVE-2022-3032

    An email client does not block loading of remote objects in a nested document.

  • CVE-2022-45918

    Chain: a learning management tool debugger uses external input to locate previous session logs (CWE-73) and does not properly validate the given path (CWE-20), allowing for filesystem path traversal using "../" sequences (CWE-24)

  • CVE-2018-1000613

    Cryptography API uses unsafe reflection when deserializing a private key

  • CVE-2020-11053

    Chain: Go-based Oauth2 reverse proxy can send the authenticated user to another site at the end of the authentication flow. A redirect URL with HTML-encoded whitespace characters can bypass the validation (CWE-1289) to redirect to a malicious site (CWE-601)

  • CVE-2022-42745

    Recruiter software allows reading arbitrary files using XXE

  • CVE-2004-2331

    Database system allows attackers to bypass sandbox restrictions by using the Reflection API.

Cómo lo explotan los atacantes

Ruta del atacante paso a paso

  1. 1

    The following code is a Java servlet that will receive a GET request with a url parameter in the request to redirect the browser to the address specified in the url parameter. The servlet will retrieve the url parameter value from the request and send a response to redirect the browser to the url address.

  2. 2

    The problem with this Java servlet code is that an attacker could use the RedirectServlet as part of an e-mail phishing scam to redirect users to a malicious site. An attacker could send an HTML formatted e-mail directing the user to log into their account by including in the e-mail the following link:

  3. 3

    The user may assume that the link is safe since the URL starts with their trusted bank, bank.example.com. However, the user will then be redirected to the attacker's web site (attacker.example.net) which the attacker may have made to appear very similar to bank.example.com. The user may then unwittingly enter credentials into the attacker's web page and compromise their bank account. A Java servlet should never redirect a user to a URL without verifying that the redirect address is a trusted site.

Ejemplo de código vulnerable

Vulnerable Java

The following code is a Java servlet that will receive a GET request with a url parameter in the request to redirect the browser to the address specified in the url parameter. The servlet will retrieve the url parameter value from the request and send a response to redirect the browser to the url address.

Vulnerable Java 
public class RedirectServlet extends HttpServlet {
  		protected void doGet(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response) throws ServletException, IOException {
  			String query = request.getQueryString();
  			if (query.contains("url")) {
  				String url = request.getParameter("url");
  				response.sendRedirect(url);
  			}
  		}
  }
Payload del atacante

The problem with this Java servlet code is that an attacker could use the RedirectServlet as part of an e-mail phishing scam to redirect users to a malicious site. An attacker could send an HTML formatted e-mail directing the user to log into their account by including in the e-mail the following link:

Payload del atacante HTML 
<a href="http://bank.example.com/redirect?url=http://attacker.example.net">Click here to log in</a>
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-610

  • Architecture Use safe-by-default frameworks and APIs that prevent the unsafe pattern from being expressible.
  • Implementation Validate input at trust boundaries; use allowlists, not denylists.
  • Implementation Apply the principle of least privilege to credentials, file paths, and runtime permissions.
  • Testing Cover this weakness in CI: SAST rules + targeted unit tests for the data flow.
  • Operation Monitor logs for the runtime signals listed in the next section.
Señales de detección

How to detect CWE-610

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-610 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-610?

This vulnerability occurs when an application uses user-supplied input to reference a resource located outside its intended security boundary, allowing attackers to redirect operations to unintended locations.

¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-610?

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-610?

MITRE no ha especificado plataformas afectadas para esta CWE — puede aplicar a la mayoría de los stacks de aplicaciones.

¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-610?

Use safe-by-default frameworks, validate untrusted input at trust boundaries, and apply the principle of least privilege. Cover the data-flow signature in CI with SAST.

¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-610?

El motor SAST de Plexicus detecta la firma de flujo de datos para CWE-610 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-610?

MITRE publica la definición canónica en https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/610.html. También puedes consultar la documentación de OWASP y NIST para guías relacionadas.

Debilidades relacionadas

Weaknesses related to CWE-610

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CWE-221 Hermano

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Recursos

Further reading

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