One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.
View on MITREAllowing external control of system settings can disrupt service or cause an application to behave in unexpected, and potentially malicious ways.
Because setting manipulation covers a diverse set of functions, any attempt at illustrating it will inevitably be incomplete. Rather than searching for a tight-knit relationship between the functions addressed in the setting manipulation category, take a step back and consider the sorts of system values that an attacker should not be allowed to control.
In general, do not allow user-provided or otherwise untrusted data to control sensitive values. The leverage that an attacker gains by controlling these values is not always immediately obvious, but do not underestimate the creativity of the attacker.
No detection method information available for this CWE.
The following C code accepts a number as one of its command line parameters and sets it as the host ID of the current machine.
Although a process must be privileged to successfully invoke sethostid(), unprivileged users may be able to invoke the program. The code in this example allows user input to directly control the value of a system setting. If an attacker provides a malicious value for host ID, the attacker can misidentify the affected machine on the network or cause other unintended behavior.
The following Java code snippet reads a string from an HttpServletRequest and sets it as the active catalog for a database Connection.
In this example, an attacker could cause an error by providing a nonexistent catalog name or connect to an unauthorized portion of the database.
No relationship information available for this CWE.
CWE-15: External Control of System or Configuration Setting is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user. Allowing external control of system settings can disrupt service or cause an application to behave in unexpected, and potentially malicious ways.
If exploited, CWE-15 (External Control of System or Configuration Setting) it can compromise Other, leading to outcomes such as Varies by Context.
Recommended mitigations for CWE-15 include: Because setting manipulation covers a diverse set of functions, any attempt at illustrating it will inevitably be incomplete. Rather than searching for a tight-knit relationship between the functions addressed in the setting manipulation category, take a step back and consider the sorts of system values that an attacker should not be allowed to control. In general, do not allow user-provided or otherwise untrusted data to control sensitive values. The leverage that an attacker gains by controlling these values is not always immediately obvious, but do not underestimate the creativity of the attacker.
A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-15 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.