CWE-1323: Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data

BaseDraft

Trace data collected from several sources on the System-on-Chip (SoC) is stored in unprotected locations or transported to untrusted agents.

View on MITRE
Back to CWE Lookup

Extended Description

To facilitate verification of complex System-on-Chip (SoC) designs, SoC integrators add specific IP blocks that trace the SoC's internal signals in real-time. This infrastructure enables observability of the SoC's internal behavior, validation of its functional design, and detection of hardware and software bugs. Such tracing IP blocks collect traces from several sources on the SoC including the CPU, crypto coprocessors, and on-chip fabrics. Traces collected from these sources are then aggregated inside trace IP block and forwarded to trace sinks, such as debug-trace ports that facilitate debugging by external hardware and software debuggers. Since these traces are collected from several security-sensitive sources, they must be protected against untrusted debuggers. If they are stored in unprotected memory, an untrusted software debugger can access these traces and extract secret information. Additionally, if security-sensitive traces are not tagged as secure, an untrusted hardware debugger might access them to extract confidential information.

Technical Details

Structure
Simple

Applicable To

Languages
Not Language-Specific
Platforms
Not OS-Specific

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-1323: Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data?+

CWE-1323: Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. Trace data collected from several sources on the System-on-Chip (SoC) is stored in unprotected locations or transported to untrusted agents. To facilitate verification of complex System-on-Chip (SoC) designs, SoC integrators add specific IP blocks that trace the SoC's internal signals in real-time. This infrastructure enables observability of the SoC's internal behavior, validation of its functional design, and detection of hardware and software bugs. Such tracing IP blocks collect traces from several sources on the SoC including the CPU, crypto coprocessors, and on-chip fabrics. Traces collected from these sources are then aggregated inside trace IP block and forwarded to trace sinks, such as debug-trace ports that facilitate debugging by external hardware and software debuggers. Since these traces are collected from several security-sensitive sources, they must be protected against untrusted debuggers. If they are stored in unprotected memory, an untrusted software debugger can access these traces and extract secret information. Additionally, if security-sensitive traces are not tagged as secure, an untrusted hardware debugger might access them to extract confidential information.

What are the security consequences of Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data?+

If exploited, CWE-1323 (Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data) it can compromise Confidentiality, leading to outcomes such as Read Memory.

How do you prevent or mitigate Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data?+

Recommended mitigations for CWE-1323 include: Tag traces to indicate owner and debugging privilege level (designer, OEM, or end user) needed to access that trace.

Which programming languages are affected by Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data?+

CWE-1323 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.

What is the difference between a CWE and a CVE?+

A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-1323 describes a category of software weakness — the underlying flaw type. A CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) identifies a specific, real-world vulnerability in a particular product. In short, a CWE is the kind of mistake, and a CVE is an instance of that mistake being found in software.

Learn More