CWE-1244 — Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State
CWE-1244: Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State
MITRE CWE weakness
| Kind | Weakness |
| Abstraction | Base |
| Status | Stable |
| Likelihood of exploit | — |
Description
The product uses physical debug or test interfaces with support for multiple access levels, but it assigns the wrong debug access level to an internal asset, providing unintended access to the asset from untrusted debug agents.
Debug authorization can have multiple levels of access, defined such that different system internal assets are accessible based on the current authorized debug level. Other than debugger authentication (e.g., using passwords or challenges), the authorization can also be based on the system state or boot stage. For example, full system debug access might only be allowed early in boot after a system reset to ensure that previous session data is not accessible to the authenticated debugger.
Common consequences
- Confidentiality: Read Memory
- Integrity: Modify Memory
- Authorization, Access Control: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity, Bypass Protection Mechanism
Mitigations
Architecture and Design — For security-sensitive assets accessible over debug/test interfaces, only allow trusted agents.
Architecture and Design — Apply blinding [REF-1219] or masking techniques in strategic areas.
Implementation — Add shielding or tamper-resistant protections to the device, which increases the difficulty and cost for accessing debug/test interfaces.
References
- CWE page: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1244.html
- CWE list: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/index.html