The product performs an operation that triggers an external diagnostic or error message that is not directly generated or controlled by the product, such as an error generated by the programming language interpreter that a software application uses. The error can contain sensitive system information.
View on MITREConfigure the application's environment in a way that prevents errors from being generated. For example, in PHP, disable display_errors.
Handle exceptions internally and do not display errors containing potentially sensitive information to a user. Create default error pages if necessary.
The best way to prevent this weakness during implementation is to avoid any bugs that could trigger the external error message. This typically happens when the program encounters fatal errors, such as a divide-by-zero. You will not always be able to control the use of error pages, and you might not be using a language that handles exceptions.
No detection method information available for this CWE.
The following servlet code does not catch runtime exceptions, meaning that if such an exception were to occur, the container may display potentially dangerous information (such as a full stack trace).
In the following Java example the class InputFileRead enables an input file to be read using a FileReader object. In the constructor of this class a default input file path is set to some directory on the local file system and the method setInputFile must be called to set the name of the input file to be read in the default directory. The method readInputFile will create the FileReader object and will read the contents of the file. If the method setInputFile is not called prior to calling the method readInputFile then the File object will remain null when initializing the FileReader object. A Java RuntimeException will be raised, and an error message will be output to the user.
However, the error message output to the user contains information regarding the default directory on the local file system. This information can be exploited and may lead to unauthorized access or use of the system. Any Java RuntimeExceptions that are handled should not expose sensitive information to the user.
chain: product does not protect against direct request of an include file, leading to resultant path disclosure when the include file does not successfully execute.
View DetailsSingle "'" inserted into SQL query leads to invalid SQL query execution, triggering full path disclosure. Possibly resultant from more general SQL injection issue.
View Detailschain: product does not protect against direct request of a library file, leading to resultant path disclosure when the file does not successfully execute.
View Detailsinvalid parameter triggers a failure to find an include file, leading to infoleak in error message.
View DetailsVarious invalid requests lead to information leak in verbose error messages describing the failure to instantiate a class, open a configuration file, or execute an undefined function.
View DetailsImproper handling of filename request with trailing "/" causes multiple consequences, including information leak in Visual Basic error message.
View DetailsCWE-211: Externally-Generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product performs an operation that triggers an external diagnostic or error message that is not directly generated or controlled by the product, such as an error generated by the programming language interpreter that a software application uses. The error can contain sensitive system information.
If exploited, CWE-211 (Externally-Generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information) it can compromise Confidentiality, leading to outcomes such as Read Application Data.
Recommended mitigations for CWE-211 include: Configure the application's environment in a way that prevents errors from being generated. For example, in PHP, disable display_errors. Handle exceptions internally and do not display errors containing potentially sensitive information to a user. Create default error pages if necessary. The best way to prevent this weakness during implementation is to avoid any bugs that could trigger the external error message. This typically happens when the program encounters fatal errors, such as a divide-by-zero. You will not always be able to control the use of error pages, and you might not be using a language that handles exceptions.
CWE-211 commonly affects PHP and Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.
MITRE documents real CVEs mapped to CWE-211, including CVE-2004-1581, CVE-2004-1579, CVE-2005-0459, CVE-2005-0443 and CVE-2005-0433. You can look up the full details of each CVE, including CVSS scores and remediation guidance, on our CVE Lookup tool.
A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-211 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.