CWE-1419: Incorrect Initialization of Resource | Glexia

Causes

• Consider example design module system verilog code shown below. The register_example module is an example parameterized module that defines two parameters, REGISTER_WIDTH and REGISTER_DEFAULT. Register_example module defines a Secure_mode setting, which when set makes the register content read-only and not modifiable by software writes. register_top module instantiates two registers, Insecure_Device_ID_1 and Insecure_Device_ID_2. Generally, registers containing device identifier values are required to be read only to prevent any possibility of software modifying these values. These example instantiations show how, in a hardware design, it would be possible to instantiate the register module with insecure defaults and parameters. In the example design, both registers will be software writable since Secure_mode is defined as zero.
• This code attempts to login a user using credentials from a POST request: Because the $authorized variable is never initialized, PHP will automatically set $authorized to any value included in the POST request if register_globals is enabled. An attacker can send a POST request with an unexpected third value 'authorized' set to 'true' and gain authorized status without supplying valid credentials. Here is a fixed version: This code avoids the issue by initializing the $authorized variable to false and explicitly retrieving the login credentials from the $_POST variable. Regardless, register_globals should never be enabled and is disabled by default in current versions of PHP.
• The following example code is excerpted from the Access Control module, acct_wrapper, in the Hack@DAC'21 buggy OpenPiton System-on-Chip (SoC). Within this module, a set of memory-mapped I/O registers, referred to as acct_mem, each 32-bit wide, is utilized to store access control permissions for peripherals [REF-1437]. Access control registers are typically used to define and enforce permissions and access rights for various system resources. However, in the buggy SoC, these registers are all enabled at reset, i.e., essentially granting unrestricted access to all system resources [REF-1438]. This will introduce security vulnerabilities and risks to the system, such as privilege escalation or exposing sensitive information to unauthorized users or processes. To fix this issue, the access control registers must be properly initialized during the reset phase of the SoC. Correct initialization values should be established to maintain the system's integrity, security, predictable behavior, and allow proper control of peripherals. The specifics of what values should be set depend on the SoC's design and the requirements of the system. To address the problem depicted in the bad code example [REF-1438], the default value for "acct_mem" should be set to 32'h00000000 (see good code example [REF-1439]). This ensures that during startup or after any reset, access to protected data is restricted until the system setup is complete and security procedures properly configure the access control settings.

Remediation

• Implementation: Choose the safest-possible initialization for security-related resources.
• Implementation: Ensure that each resource (whether variable, memory buffer, register, etc.) is fully initialized.
• Implementation: Pay close attention to complex conditionals or reset sources that affect initialization, since some paths might not perform the initialization.
• Architecture and Design: Ensure that the design and architecture clearly identify what the initialization should be, and that the initialization does not have security implications.

Detection

• Automated Static Analysis: Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)

Related CWEs

• CWE-1051: Initialization with Hard-Coded Network Resource Configuration Data
• CWE-1052: Excessive Use of Hard-Coded Literals in Initialization
• CWE-1188: Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default
• CWE-1221: Incorrect Register Defaults or Module Parameters
• CWE-665: Improper Initialization
• CWE-454: External Initialization of Trusted Variables or Data Stores

Related CVEs

Related CVE mappings appear after CVE records are cross-indexed.

ATT&CK Relevance

ATT&CK relevance is shown only when reviewed or responsibly inferred.