Weakness · High
CWE-69: Improper Handling of Windows ::DATA Alternate Data Stream
What it is
The product does not properly prevent access to, or detect usage of, alternate data streams (ADS).
- Severity (our rating)
- High
- Likelihood of exploit
- Not rated by MITRE
- Introduced during
- Implementation
- Exploited in the wild
- No CVE in CISA's catalog
In more detail
An attacker can use an ADS to hide information about a file (e.g. size, the name of the process) from a system or file browser tools such as Windows Explorer and 'dir' at the command line utility. Alternately, the attacker might be able to bypass intended access restrictions for the associated data fork.
What an attacker can do
- Bypass Protection Mechanism (Access Control, Non-Repudiation, Other)
- Hide Activities (Access Control, Non-Repudiation, Other)
- Other (Access Control, Non-Repudiation, Other)
How to prevent it
Implementation
- Ensure that the source code correctly parses the filename to read or write to the correct stream.
How to find it
- Automated Analysis. Software tools are capable of finding ADSs on your system.
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Start freeSource: MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration, CWE version 4.19.1. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.