CWE-565 Base Incompleto

Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking

This vulnerability occurs when an application uses cookies to make security decisions—like granting access or changing settings—but fails to verify that the cookie data is legitimate, unaltered, and…

Definição

What is CWE-565?

This vulnerability occurs when an application uses cookies to make security decisions—like granting access or changing settings—but fails to verify that the cookie data is legitimate, unaltered, and belongs to the current user.
Cookies are often used to store session identifiers, user preferences, or state information, but they are controlled by the client's browser. When an application blindly trusts cookie values without validating their integrity or checking if they match the authenticated user's session, attackers can forge or manipulate cookies to impersonate other users, escalate privileges, or bypass security controls. To prevent this, developers should treat all client-side data, including cookies, as untrusted input. Implement server-side validation for any cookie used in security decisions, use cryptographically signed or encrypted cookies to prevent tampering, and bind session cookies to specific user attributes (like IP address or user agent) to detect session hijacking attempts.
Vulnerability Diagram CWE-565
Reliance on Cookie Without Validation Attacker forges cookie isAdmin=true; user=alice App logic if (cookie.isAdmin) ok // no signing / HMAC // no server-side session trusts client value Admin access trivially granted Cookie value is treated as authoritative without integrity checks.
Impacto no mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-565

  • CVE-2008-5784

    e-dating application allows admin privileges by setting the admin cookie to 1.

Como os atacantes a exploram

Trajeto do atacante passo a passo

  1. 1

    Identificar um caminho de código que trata input não confiável sem validação.

  2. 2

    Criar um payload que explora o comportamento inseguro — injeção, traversal, overflow ou abuso de lógica.

  3. 3

    Entregar o payload através de um pedido normal e observar a reação da aplicação.

  4. 4

    Iterar até que a resposta exponha dados, execute código do atacante ou escale privilégios.

Exemplo de código vulnerável

Vulnerable Java

The following code excerpt reads a value from a browser cookie to determine the role of the user.

Vulnerável Java 
Cookie[] cookies = request.getCookies();
  for (int i =0; i< cookies.length; i++) {
  	Cookie c = cookies[i];
  	if (c.getName().equals("role")) {
  		userRole = c.getValue();
  	}
  }
Exemplo 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 verificação de prevenção

How to prevent CWE-565

  • Architecture and Design Avoid using cookie data for a security-related decision.
  • Implementation Perform thorough input validation (i.e.: server side validation) on the cookie data if you're going to use it for a security related decision.
  • Architecture and Design Add integrity checks to detect tampering.
  • Architecture and Design Protect critical cookies from replay attacks, since cross-site scripting or other attacks may allow attackers to steal a strongly-encrypted cookie that also passes integrity checks. This mitigation applies to cookies that should only be valid during a single transaction or session. By enforcing timeouts, you may limit the scope of an attack. As part of your integrity check, use an unpredictable, server-side value that is not exposed to the client.
Sinais de deteção

How to detect CWE-565

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.)

Correção automática do Plexicus

O Plexicus deteta automaticamente o CWE-565 e abre um PR de correção em menos de 60 segundos.

O Codex Remedium analisa cada commit, identifica esta fraqueza exata e entrega um pull request pronto para revisão com o patch. Sem tickets. Sem transferências.

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Perguntas frequentes

Frequently asked questions

O que é o CWE-565?

This vulnerability occurs when an application uses cookies to make security decisions—like granting access or changing settings—but fails to verify that the cookie data is legitimate, unaltered, and belongs to the current user.

Qual a gravidade do CWE-565?

A MITRE não publicou uma classificação de probabilidade de exploração para esta fraqueza. Trate-a como impacto médio até o seu modelo de ameaças provar o contrário.

Que linguagens ou plataformas são afetadas pelo CWE-565?

A MITRE não especificou as plataformas afetadas por este CWE — pode aplicar-se à maioria das stacks de aplicações.

Como posso prevenir o CWE-565?

Avoid using cookie data for a security-related decision. Perform thorough input validation (i.e.: server side validation) on the cookie data if you're going to use it for a security related decision.

Como é que o Plexicus deteta e corrige o CWE-565?

O motor SAST do Plexicus correlaciona a assinatura de fluxo de dados do CWE-565 em cada commit. Quando é encontrada uma correspondência, o nosso agente Codex Remedium abre um PR de correção com o código corrigido, testes e um resumo de uma linha para o revisor.

Onde posso saber mais sobre o CWE-565?

A MITRE publica a definição canónica em https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/565.html. Pode também consultar a documentação da OWASP e do NIST para orientações adjacentes.

Fraquezas relacionadas

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Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking in a Security Decision

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Recursos

Further reading

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