CWE-908 Base Incompleto Medium likelihood

Use of Uninitialized Resource

This vulnerability occurs when software attempts to use a resource—like memory, a file handle, or an object—before it has been properly set up or assigned a valid starting state.

Definição

What is CWE-908?

This vulnerability occurs when software attempts to use a resource—like memory, a file handle, or an object—before it has been properly set up or assigned a valid starting state.
Using an uninitialized resource is like trying to drive a car without starting the engine; the system doesn't have a valid state to operate from. This often happens due to coding oversights, such as forgetting to assign a value to a variable, failing to open a file before reading it, or not constructing an object before calling its methods. The specific resource could be anything from a block of memory and a database connection to a configuration setting or a network socket. The consequences depend entirely on what the resource is and how the program tries to use it. At best, the software might behave unpredictably or produce incorrect results. More severely, it can crash the application, expose sensitive data leftover in memory, or create a path for attackers to manipulate the program's control flow. This makes it a common root cause for stability issues and a potential gateway to more serious security exploits.
Impacto no mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-908

  • CVE-2019-9805

    Chain: Creation of the packet client occurs before initialization is complete (CWE-696) resulting in a read from uninitialized memory (CWE-908), causing memory corruption.

  • CVE-2008-4197

    Use of uninitialized memory may allow code execution.

  • CVE-2008-2934

    Free of an uninitialized pointer leads to crash and possible code execution.

  • CVE-2008-0063

    Product does not clear memory contents when generating an error message, leading to information leak.

  • CVE-2008-0062

    Lack of initialization triggers NULL pointer dereference or double-free.

  • CVE-2008-0081

    Uninitialized variable leads to code execution in popular desktop application.

  • CVE-2008-3688

    Chain: Uninitialized variable leads to infinite loop.

  • CVE-2008-3475

    Chain: Improper initialization leads to memory corruption.

Como os atacantes a exploram

Trajeto do atacante passo a passo

  1. 1

    Here, a boolean initiailized field is consulted to ensure that initialization tasks are only completed once. However, the field is mistakenly set to true during static initialization, so the initialization code is never reached.

  2. 2

    The following code intends to limit certain operations to the administrator only.

  3. 3

    If the application is unable to extract the state information - say, due to a database timeout - then the $uid variable will not be explicitly set by the programmer. This will cause $uid to be regarded as equivalent to "0" in the conditional, allowing the original user to perform administrator actions. Even if the attacker cannot directly influence the state data, unexpected errors could cause incorrect privileges to be assigned to a user just by accident.

  4. 4

    The following code intends to concatenate a string to a variable and print the string.

  5. 5

    This might seem innocent enough, but str was not initialized, so it contains random memory. As a result, str[0] might not contain the null terminator, so the copy might start at an offset other than 0. The consequences can vary, depending on the underlying memory.

Exemplo de código vulnerável

Vulnerable Java

Here, a boolean initiailized field is consulted to ensure that initialization tasks are only completed once. However, the field is mistakenly set to true during static initialization, so the initialization code is never reached.

Vulnerável Java 
private boolean initialized = true;
  public void someMethod() {
  		if (!initialized) {
```
// perform initialization tasks* 
  				...
  				
  				initialized = true;}
Exemplo de código seguro

Secure C

When the printf() is reached, test_string might be an unexpected address, so the printf might print junk strings (CWE-457). To fix this code, there are a couple approaches to making sure that test_string has been properly set once it reaches the printf(). One solution would be to set test_string to an acceptable default before the conditional:

Seguro C 
char *test_string = "Done at the beginning";
 if (i != err_val)
 {

```
  test_string = "Hello World!";
 }
 printf("%s", test_string);
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-908

  • Implementation Explicitly initialize the resource before use. If this is performed through an API function or standard procedure, follow all required steps.
  • Implementation Pay close attention to complex conditionals that affect initialization, since some branches might not perform the initialization.
  • Implementation Avoid race conditions (CWE-362) during initialization routines.
  • Build and Compilation Run or compile the product with settings that generate warnings about uninitialized variables or data.
Sinais de deteção

How to detect CWE-908

SAST High

Executar análise estática (SAST) na base de código à procura do padrão inseguro no fluxo de dados.

DAST Moderate

Executar testes dinâmicos de segurança de aplicações (DAST) contra o endpoint em execução.

Runtime Moderate

Monitorizar os registos em tempo de execução para traços de exceção invulgares, input malformado ou tentativas de contornar a autorização.

Code review Moderate

Revisão de código: sinalizar qualquer novo código que trate input desta superfície sem usar os ajudantes validados do framework.

Correção automática do Plexicus

O Plexicus deteta automaticamente o CWE-908 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-908?

This vulnerability occurs when software attempts to use a resource—like memory, a file handle, or an object—before it has been properly set up or assigned a valid starting state.

Qual a gravidade do CWE-908?

A MITRE classifica a probabilidade de exploração como Média — a exploração é realista mas normalmente requer condições específicas.

Que linguagens ou plataformas são afetadas pelo CWE-908?

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

Como posso prevenir o CWE-908?

Explicitly initialize the resource before use. If this is performed through an API function or standard procedure, follow all required steps. Pay close attention to complex conditionals that affect initialization, since some branches might not perform the initialization.

Como é que o Plexicus deteta e corrige o CWE-908?

O motor SAST do Plexicus correlaciona a assinatura de fluxo de dados do CWE-908 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-908?

A MITRE publica a definição canónica em https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/908.html. Pode também consultar a documentação da OWASP e do NIST para orientações adjacentes.

Fraquezas relacionadas

Weaknesses related to CWE-908

CWE-665 Pai

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Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default

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CWE-1279 Irmão

Cryptographic Operations are run Before Supporting Units are Ready

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CWE-1419 Irmão

Incorrect Initialization of Resource

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CWE-1434 Irmão

Insecure Setting of Generative AI/ML Model Inference Parameters

This vulnerability occurs when a generative AI or ML model is deployed with inference parameters that are too permissive, causing it to…

CWE-455 Irmão

Non-exit on Failed Initialization

This vulnerability occurs when software continues to run as normal after encountering a critical security failure during its startup…

CWE-456 Irmão

Missing Initialization of a Variable

This vulnerability occurs when a program uses a variable before giving it a starting value, causing the software to rely on unpredictable…

CWE-457 Irmão

Use of Uninitialized Variable

This vulnerability occurs when a program accesses a variable before it has been assigned a value, leading to unpredictable behavior and…

CWE-770 Irmão

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

This vulnerability occurs when a system allows users or processes to request resources without any built-in caps or rate limits. Think of…

Recursos

Further reading

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