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Description
The application performs an operation that triggers an external diagnostic or error message that is not directly generated or controlled by the application, such as an error generated by the programming language interpreter that the software uses. The error can contain sensitive system information.
Modes of Introduction:
– Architecture and Design
Related Weaknesses
CWE-209
Consequences
Confidentiality: Read Application Data
Potential Mitigations
Phase: System Configuration
Description:
Configure the application’s environment in a way that prevents errors from being generated. For example, in PHP, disable display_errors.
Phase: Implementation, Build and Compilation
Description:
Debugging information should not make its way into a production release.
Phase: Implementation, Build and Compilation
Description:
Debugging information should not make its way into a production release.
Phase: Implementation
Description:
Handle exceptions internally and do not display errors containing potentially sensitive information to a user. Create default error pages if necessary.
Phase: Implementation
Description:
The best way to prevent this weakness during implementation is to avoid any bugs that could trigger the external error message. This typically happens when the program encounters fatal errors, such as a divide-by-zero. You will not always be able to control the use of error pages, and you might not be using a language that handles exceptions.
CVE References
- CVE-2004-1581
- chain: product does not protect against direct request of an include file, leading to resultant path disclosure when the include file does not successfully execute.
- CVE-2004-1579
- Single “‘” inserted into SQL query leads to invalid SQL query execution, triggering full path disclosure. Possibly resultant from more general SQL injection issue.
- CVE-2005-0459
- chain: product does not protect against direct request of a library file, leading to resultant path disclosure when the file does not successfully execute.
- CVE-2005-0443
- invalid parameter triggers a failure to find an include file, leading to infoleak in error message.
- CVE-2005-0433
- Various invalid requests lead to information leak in verbose error messages describing the failure to instantiate a class, open a configuration file, or execute an undefined function.
- CVE-2004-1101
- Improper handling of filename request with trailing “/” causes multiple consequences, including information leak in Visual Basic error message.
