Weakness · High
CWE-566: Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled SQL Primary Key
What it is
The product uses a database table that includes records that should not be accessible to an actor, but it executes a SQL statement with a primary key that can be controlled by that actor.
- Severity (our rating)
- High
- Likelihood of exploit
- Not rated by MITRE
- Introduced during
- Architecture and Design, Implementation
- Exploited in the wild
- No CVE in CISA's catalog
In more detail
When a user can set a primary key to any value, then the user can modify the key to point to unauthorized records. Database access control errors occur when: Data enters a program from an untrusted source. The data is used to specify the value of a primary key in a SQL query. The untrusted source does not have the permissions to be able to access all rows in the associated table.
What an attacker can do
- Read Application Data (Confidentiality, Integrity, Access Control)
- Modify Application Data (Confidentiality, Integrity, Access Control)
- Bypass Protection Mechanism (Confidentiality, Integrity, Access Control)
How to prevent it
Implementation
- Assume all input is malicious. Use a standard input validation mechanism to validate all input for length, type, syntax, and business rules before accepting the data. Use an "accept known good" validation strategy.
- Use a parameterized query AND make sure that the accepted values conform to the business rules. Construct your SQL statement accordingly.
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.