Description
The product correctly neutralizes certain special elements, but it improperly neutralizes equivalent special elements.
The product may have a fixed list of special characters it believes is complete. However, there may be alternate encodings, or representations that also have the same meaning. For example, the product may filter out a leading slash (/) to prevent absolute path names, but does not account for a tilde (~) followed by a user name, which on some *nix systems could be expanded to an absolute pathname. Alternately, the product might filter a dangerous "-e" command-line switch when calling an external program, but it might not account for "--exec" or other switches that have the same semantics.
Potential Impact
Other
Other
Mitigations & Prevention
Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
Utilize an appropriate mix of allowlist and denylist parsing to filter equivalent special element syntax from all input.
Related Weaknesses
Taxonomy Mappings
- PLOVER: — Equivalent Special Element Injection
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CWE-76?
CWE-76 (Improper Neutralization of Equivalent Special Elements) is a software weakness identified by MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration. It is classified as a Base-level weakness. The product correctly neutralizes certain special elements, but it improperly neutralizes equivalent special elements.
How can CWE-76 be exploited?
Attackers can exploit CWE-76 (Improper Neutralization of Equivalent Special Elements) to other. This weakness is typically introduced during the Implementation phase of software development.
How do I prevent CWE-76?
Key mitigations include: Programming languages and supporting technologies might be chosen which are not subject to these issues.
What is the severity of CWE-76?
CWE-76 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.