Variant · Low-Medium

CWE-277: Insecure Inherited Permissions

A product defines a set of insecure permissions that are inherited by objects that are created by the program.

CWE-277 · Variant Level ·2 CVEs ·2 Mitigations

Description

A product defines a set of insecure permissions that are inherited by objects that are created by the program.

Potential Impact

Confidentiality, Integrity

Read Application Data, Modify Application Data

Mitigations & Prevention

Architecture and DesignOperation

Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.

Architecture and Design

Compartmentalize the system to have "safe" areas where trust boundaries can be unambiguously drawn. Do not allow sensitive data to go outside of the trust boundary and always be careful when interfacing with a compartment outside of the safe area. Ensure that appropriate compartmentalization is built into the system design, and the compartmentalization allows for and reinforces privilege separation functionality. Architects and designers should rely on the principle of least

Real-World CVE Examples

CVE IDDescription
CVE-2005-1841User's umask is used when creating temp files.
CVE-2002-1786Insecure umask for core dumps [is the umask preserved or assigned?].

Taxonomy Mappings

  • PLOVER: — Insecure inherited permissions

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-277?

CWE-277 (Insecure Inherited Permissions) is a software weakness identified by MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration. It is classified as a Variant-level weakness. A product defines a set of insecure permissions that are inherited by objects that are created by the program.

How can CWE-277 be exploited?

Attackers can exploit CWE-277 (Insecure Inherited Permissions) to read application data, modify application data. This weakness is typically introduced during the Architecture and Design, Implementation, Operation phase of software development.

How do I prevent CWE-277?

Key mitigations include: Very carefully manage the setting, management, and handling of privileges. Explicitly manage trust zones in the software.

What is the severity of CWE-277?

CWE-277 is classified as a Variant-level weakness (Low-Medium abstraction). It has been observed in 2 real-world CVEs.