CWE-617 Base Rascunho

Reachable Assertion

A reachable assertion occurs when an attacker can trigger an assert() statement or similar debugging check, causing the application to crash or behave in a more disruptive way than intended. This…

Definição

What is CWE-617?

A reachable assertion occurs when an attacker can trigger an assert() statement or similar debugging check, causing the application to crash or behave in a more disruptive way than intended. This turns a helpful development tool into a denial-of-service vulnerability.
Assertions are meant to catch logic errors during development, but if left in production code, they can be weaponized. An attacker who discovers the trigger condition can force the application to exit abruptly, disrupting service for all users. For instance, a single triggered assert() in a multi-connection server could terminate every active connection, causing widespread outage. While SAST tools can flag the presence of assertions, managing this risk at scale across a large codebase is challenging. An ASPM platform like Plexicus helps by continuously tracking these flaws in production, and its AI can recommend specific fixes—such as replacing the assert with proper error handling—saving significant manual remediation time.
Impacto no mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-617

  • CVE-2023-49286

    Chain: function in web caching proxy does not correctly check a return value (CWE-253) leading to a reachable assertion (CWE-617)

  • CVE-2006-6767

    FTP server allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon abort) via crafted commands which trigger an assertion failure.

  • CVE-2006-6811

    Chat client allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via a long message string when connecting to a server, which causes an assertion failure.

  • CVE-2006-5779

    Product allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (daemon crash) via LDAP BIND requests with long authcid names, which triggers an assertion failure.

  • CVE-2006-4095

    Product allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (crash) via certain queries, which cause an assertion failure.

  • CVE-2006-4574

    Chain: security monitoring product has an off-by-one error that leads to unexpected length values, triggering an assertion.

  • CVE-2004-0270

    Anti-virus product has assert error when line length is non-numeric.

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

In the excerpt below, an AssertionError (an unchecked exception) is thrown if the user hasn't entered an email address in an HTML form.

Vulnerável Java 
String email = request.getParameter("email_address");
  assert email != null;
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-617

  • Implementation Make sensitive open/close operation non reachable by directly user-controlled data (e.g. open/close resources)
  • Implementation Perform input validation on user data.
Sinais de deteção

How to detect CWE-617

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-617 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-617?

A reachable assertion occurs when an attacker can trigger an assert() statement or similar debugging check, causing the application to crash or behave in a more disruptive way than intended. This turns a helpful development tool into a denial-of-service vulnerability.

Qual a gravidade do CWE-617?

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-617?

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

Como posso prevenir o CWE-617?

Make sensitive open/close operation non reachable by directly user-controlled data (e.g. open/close resources) Perform input validation on user data.

Como é que o Plexicus deteta e corrige o CWE-617?

O motor SAST do Plexicus correlaciona a assinatura de fluxo de dados do CWE-617 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-617?

A MITRE publica a definição canónica em https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/617.html. Pode também consultar a documentação da OWASP e do NIST para orientações adjacentes.

Fraquezas relacionadas

Weaknesses related to CWE-617

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Recursos

Further reading

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