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Base · Medium

CWE-1270: Generation of Incorrect Security Tokens

The product implements a Security Token mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallowed when a transaction originates from an entity. However, the Security Tokens generated in the sy...

CWE-1270 · Base Level ·1 Mitigations

Description

The product implements a Security Token mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallowed when a transaction originates from an entity. However, the Security Tokens generated in the system are incorrect.

Systems-On-a-Chip (SoC) (Integrated circuits and hardware engines) implement Security Tokens to differentiate and identify actions originated from various agents. These actions could be "read", "write", "program", "reset", "fetch", "compute", etc. Security Tokens are generated and assigned to every agent on the SoC that is either capable of generating an action or receiving an action from another agent. Every agent could be assigned a unique, Security Token based on its trust level or privileges.

Potential Impact

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, Access Control

Modify Files or Directories, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, Bypass Protection Mechanism, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity, Read Memory, Modify Memory, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

Demonstrative Examples

Consider a system with a register for storing an AES key for encryption or decryption. The key is 128 bits long implemented as a set of four 32-bit registers. The key registers are assets, and register, AES_KEY_ACCESS_POLICY, is defined to provide necessary access controls. The access-policy register defines which agents, using a Security Token, may access the AES-key registers. Each bit in this 32-bit register is used to define a Security Token. There could be a maximum of 32 Security Tokens that are allowed access to the AES-key registers. When set (bit = "1") bit number allows action from an agent whose identity matches that bit number. If Clear (bit = "0") the action is disallowed for the corresponding agent.
Assume the system has two agents: a Main-controller and an Aux-controller. The respective Security Tokens are "1" and "2".
An agent with a Security Token "1" has access to AES_ENC_DEC_KEY_0 through AES_ENC_DEC_KEY_3 registers. As per the above access policy, the AES-Key-access policy allows access to the AES-key registers if the security Token is "1".
Bad
The SoC incorrectly generates Security Token "1" for every agent. In other words, both Main-controller and Aux-controller are assigned Security Token "1".
Both agents have access to the AES-key registers.
Good
The SoC should correctly generate Security Tokens, assigning "1" to the Main-controller and "2" to the Aux-controller

Mitigations & Prevention

Architecture and DesignImplementation

CWE-284: Improper Access Control

The product does not restrict or incorrectly restricts access to a resource from an unauthorized actor.

CWE-1294: Insecure Security Identifier Mechanism

The System-on-Chip (SoC) implements a Security Identifier mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallo...

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-1270?

CWE-1270 (Generation of Incorrect Security Tokens) is a software weakness identified by MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration. It is classified as a Base-level weakness. The product implements a Security Token mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallowed when a transaction originates from an entity. However, the Security Tokens generated in the sy...

How can CWE-1270 be exploited?

Attackers can exploit CWE-1270 (Generation of Incorrect Security Tokens) to modify files or directories, execute unauthorized code or commands, bypass protection mechanism, gain privileges or assume identity, read memory, modify memory, dos: crash, exit, or restart. This weakness is typically introduced during the Architecture and Design, Implementation phase of software development.

How do I prevent CWE-1270?

Key mitigations include:

What is the severity of CWE-1270?

CWE-1270 is classified as a Base-level weakness (Medium abstraction). Its actual severity depends on the specific context and how the weakness manifests in your application.