CWE-1313: Hardware Allows Activation of Test or Debug… | Glexia
CWE-1313 (Hardware Allows Activation of Test or Debug Logic at Runtime) weakness overview with consequences, detection methods, mitigations, related CVEs and MITRE…
Glexia's Take · Automated analysis
CWE-1313: Hardware Allows Activation of Test or Debug Logic at Runtime
Hardware Allows Activation of Test or Debug Logic at Runtime represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.
Executive Impact
- Confidentiality Integrity Availability: Modify Memory Read Memory DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart DoS: Instability DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU) DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory) DoS: Resource Consumption (Other) Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands Gain Privileges or Assume Identity Bypass Protection Mechanism Alter Execution Logic Quality Degradation Unexpected State Reduce Performance Reduce Reliability
Developer Pattern
CWE-1313 is the kind of defect developers can usually prevent with explicit validation, safer framework defaults, and tests that exercise hostile input or unsafe state transitions.
Automation confidence
high confidence from CWE-1313, 4.20.
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Official CWE Definition
CWE-1313: Hardware Allows Activation of Test or Debug Logic at Runtime
During runtime, the hardware allows for test or debug logic (feature) to be activated, which allows for changing the state of the hardware. This feature can alter the intended behavior of the system and allow for alteration and leakage of sensitive data by an adversary.
An adversary can take advantage of test or debug logic that is made accessible through the hardware during normal operation to modify the intended behavior of the system. For example, an accessible Test/debug mode may allow read/write access to any system data. Using error injection (a common test/debug feature) during a transmit/receive operation on a bus, data may be modified to produce an unintended message. Similarly, confidentiality could be compromised by such features allowing access to secrets.
Developer And Remediation Guidance
How teams prevent and detect this weakness
Causes
- Missing validation
- Unsafe defaults
- Insufficient authorization or memory-safety invariant
Remediation
- Architecture and Design: Insert restrictions on when the hardware's test or debug features can be activated. For example, during normal operating modes, the hardware's privileged modes that allow access to such features cannot be activated. Configuring the hardware to only enter a test or debug mode within a window of opportunity such as during boot or configuration stage. The result is disablement of such test/debug features and associated modes during normal runtime operations.
- Implementation: Insert restrictions on when the hardware's test or debug features can be activated. For example, during normal operating modes, the hardware's privileged modes that allow access to such features cannot be activated. Configuring the hardware to only enter a test or debug mode within a window of opportunity such as during boot or configuration stage. The result is disablement of such test/debug features and associated modes during normal runtime operations.
- Integration: Insert restrictions on when the hardware's test or debug features can be activated. For example, during normal operating modes, the hardware's privileged modes that allow access to such features cannot be activated. Configuring the hardware to only enter a test or debug mode within a window of opportunity such as during boot or configuration stage. The result is disablement of such test/debug features and associated modes during normal runtime operations.
Detection
- Code review
- SAST
- DAST
- Focused regression tests
Mappings
Related CVEs, CWEs, and ATT&CK context
Related CWEs
ATT&CK Relevance
ATT&CK relevance is shown only when reviewed or responsibly inferred.