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Weakness · High

CWE-510: Trapdoor

What it is

A trapdoor is a hidden piece of code that responds to a special input, allowing its user access to resources without passing through the normal security enforcement mechanism.

MITRE CWE 4.19.1

Severity (our rating)
High
Likelihood of exploit
Not rated by MITRE
Introduced during
Architecture and Design, Distribution, Implementation, Operation
Exploited in the wild
No CVE in CISA's catalog

What an attacker can do

  • Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, Access Control)
  • Bypass Protection Mechanism (Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, Access Control)

How to prevent it

Installation

  • Always verify the integrity of the software that is being installed.

Testing

  • Identify and closely inspect the conditions for entering privileged areas of the code, especially those related to authentication, process invocation, and network communications.

How to find it

  • Automated Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode. According to SOAR, the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage: Inter-application Flow Analysis Binary / Bytecode simple extractor - strings, ELF readers, etc.
  • Manual Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode. According to SOAR, the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage: Binary / Bytecode disassembler - then use manual analysis for vulnerabilities & anomalies Generated Code Inspection
  • Dynamic Analysis with Manual Results Interpretation. According to SOAR, the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage: Automated Monitored Execution Forced Path Execution Debugger Monitored Virtual Environment - run potentially malicious code in sandbox / wrapper / virtual machine, see if it does anything suspicious
  • Manual Static Analysis - Source Code. According to SOAR, the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Manual Source Code Review (not inspections) Cost effective for partial coverage: Focused Manual Spotcheck - Focused manual analysis of source
  • Automated Static Analysis - Source Code. According to SOAR, the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage: Context-configured Source Code Weakness Analyzer
  • Architecture or Design Review. According to SOAR, the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Inspection (IEEE 1028 standard) (can apply to requirements, design, source code, etc.) Cost effective for partial coverage: Formal Methods / Correct-By-Construction

CWE-510 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.