Weakness · Medium

CWE-483: Incorrect Block Delimitation

What it is

The code does not explicitly delimit a block that is intended to contain 2 or more statements, creating a logic error.

Likelihood of exploit: LowMITRE CWE 4.19.1

Severity (our rating)
Medium
Likelihood of exploit
Low
Introduced during
Implementation
Exploited in the wild
No CVE in CISA's catalog

In more detail

In some languages, braces (or other delimiters) are optional for blocks. When the delimiter is omitted, it is possible to insert a logic error in which a statement is thought to be in a block but is not. In some cases, the logic error can have security implications.

What an attacker can do

  • Alter Execution Logic (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability)

How to prevent it

Implementation

  • Always use explicit block delimitation and use static-analysis technologies to enforce this practice.

How to find it

  • Automated Static Analysis. 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.)

CWE-483 on MITRE's CWE site

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Source: MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration, CWE version 4.19.1. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.