CWE-111 – Direct Use of Unsafe JNI

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Description

When a Java application uses the Java Native Interface (JNI) to call code written in another programming language, it can expose the application to weaknesses in that code, even if those weaknesses cannot occur in Java.

Many safety features that programmers may take for granted do not apply for native code, so you must carefully review all such code for potential problems. The languages used to implement native code may be more susceptible to buffer overflows and other attacks. Native code is unprotected by the security features enforced by the runtime environment, such as strong typing and array bounds checking.

Modes of Introduction:

– Implementation

 

 

Related Weaknesses

CWE-695
CWE-20

 

Consequences

Access Control: Bypass Protection Mechanism

 

Potential Mitigations

Phase: Implementation

Description: 

Implement error handling around the JNI call.

Phase: Implementation

Description: 

Do not use JNI calls if you don’t trust the native library.

Phase: Implementation

Description: 

Be reluctant to use JNI calls. A Java API equivalent may exist.

CVE References