Description

Executing commands or loading libraries from an untrusted source or in an untrusted environment can cause an application to execute malicious commands (and payloads) on behalf of an attacker.

Extended Description

Process control vulnerabilities take two forms: 1. An attacker can change the command that the program executes: the attacker explicitly controls what the command is. 2. An attacker can change the environment in which the command executes: the attacker implicitly controls what the command means. Process control vulnerabilities of the first type occur when either data enters the application from an untrusted source and the data is used as part of a string representing a command that is executed by the application. By executing the command, the application gives an attacker a privilege or capability that the attacker would not otherwise have.

Applicable Platforms
Language Class: All

Time Of Introduction

• Implementation

Related Attack Patterns

• CAPEC-108

Common Consequences

Detection Methods
None

Potential Mitigations

Relationships

Demonstrative Examples   (Details)

1. The following code from a privileged application uses a registry entry to determine the directory in which it is installed and loads a library file based on a relative path from the specified directory.
2. The following code is from a web-based administration utility that allows users access to an interface through which they can update their profile on the system. The utility makes use of a library named liberty.dll, which is normally found in a standard system directory.
3. The following code uses System.loadLibrary() to load code from a native library named library.dll, which is normally found in a standard system directory.

White Box Definitions
None

Black Box Definitions
None

Taxynomy Mappings

References:
None