Weakness · High
CWE-486: Comparison of Classes by Name
What it is
The product compares classes by name, which can cause it to use the wrong class when multiple classes can have the same name.
- Severity (our rating)
- High
- Likelihood of exploit
- High
- Introduced during
- Implementation
- Exploited in the wild
- No CVE in CISA's catalog
In more detail
If the decision to trust the methods and data of an object is based on the name of a class, it is possible for malicious users to send objects of the same name as trusted classes and thereby gain the trust afforded to known classes and types.
What an attacker can do
- Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands (Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability)
How to prevent it
Implementation
- Use class equivalency to determine type. Rather than use the class name to determine if an object is of a given type, use the getClass() method, and == operator.
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.)
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Start freeSource: MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration, CWE version 4.19.1. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.