CWE-780 Variante Incompleto Medium likelihood

Use of RSA Algorithm without OAEP

This vulnerability occurs when an application implements RSA encryption but fails to use Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OAEP), significantly weakening the cryptographic protection.

Definición

What is CWE-780?

This vulnerability occurs when an application implements RSA encryption but fails to use Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OAEP), significantly weakening the cryptographic protection.
RSA encryption on its own has mathematical properties that make raw, unpadded messages vulnerable to analysis. Attackers can exploit these patterns to decrypt data without the private key. OAEP adds a layer of random padding before encryption, making every output unique and unpredictable, which is essential for secure RSA implementation in practice. Without OAEP, encrypted data is far easier to compromise, especially in scenarios involving repeated or predictable messages. While SAST tools can detect this insecure pattern, managing this at scale is difficult; an ASPM like Plexicus can help you track and remediate these flaws across your entire stack, using AI to suggest the specific code fixes needed to implement OAEP correctly.
Impacto en el mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-780

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 Java

The example below attempts to build an RSA cipher.

Vulnerable Java 
public Cipher getRSACipher() {
  	Cipher rsa = null;
  	try {
  		rsa = javax.crypto.Cipher.getInstance("RSA/NONE/NoPadding");
  	}
  	catch (java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
  		log("this should never happen", e);
  	}
  	catch (javax.crypto.NoSuchPaddingException e) {
  		log("this should never happen", e);
  	}
  	return rsa;
  }
Ejemplo de código seguro

Secure Java

While the previous code successfully creates an RSA cipher, the cipher does not use padding. The following code creates an RSA cipher using OAEP.

Seguro Java 
public Cipher getRSACipher() {
  	Cipher rsa = null;
  	try {
  		rsa = javax.crypto.Cipher.getInstance("RSA/ECB/OAEPWithMD5AndMGF1Padding");
  	}
  	catch (java.security.NoSuchAlgorithmException e) {
  		log("this should never happen", e);
  	}
  	catch (javax.crypto.NoSuchPaddingException e) {
  		log("this should never happen", e);
  	}
  	return rsa;
  }
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-780

  • 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-780

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.)

Auto-corrección de Plexicus

Plexicus detecta automáticamente CWE-780 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-780?

This vulnerability occurs when an application implements RSA encryption but fails to use Optimal Asymmetric Encryption Padding (OAEP), significantly weakening the cryptographic protection.

¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-780?

MITRE califica la probabilidad de explotación como Media — la explotación es realista pero suele requerir condiciones específicas.

¿Qué lenguajes o plataformas se ven afectados por CWE-780?

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

¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-780?

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-780?

El motor SAST de Plexicus detecta la firma de flujo de datos para CWE-780 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-780?

MITRE publica la definición canónica en https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/780.html. También puedes consultar la documentación de OWASP y NIST para guías relacionadas.

Debilidades relacionadas

Weaknesses related to CWE-780

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CWE-1240 Hermano

Use of a Cryptographic Primitive with a Risky Implementation

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CWE-328 Hermano

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CWE-916 Hermano

Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort

This vulnerability occurs when a system protects passwords by hashing them, but uses a hashing algorithm that is too fast or…

Recursos

Further reading

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