2139
Scope Impact Likelihood
Potential Mitigations
Phase: Implementation
Strategy = Input Validation
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use
a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not
strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing
input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the
full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related
fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be
syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input
is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue." Do not rely exclusively on looking for
malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if
the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended
validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which
inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright.
Effectiveness = High
Observed Examples
Reference Description
CVE-2008-2223 SQL injection through an ID that was supposed to be numeric.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2008-2223
MemberOf Relationships
This MemberOf relationships table shows additional CWE Catgeories and Views that reference this
weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits
within the context of external information sources.
Nature Type ID Name Page
MemberOf 1406 Comprehensive Categorization: Improper Input
Validation
1400 2531
Notes
Maintenance
This entry is still under development and will continue to see updates and content improvements.
CWE-1288: Improper Validation of Consistency within Input
Weakness ID : 1288
Structure : Simple
Abstraction : Base
Description
The product receives a complex input with multiple elements or fields that must be consistent with
each other, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input is actually consistent.
Extended Description
Some input data can be structured with multiple elements or fields that must be consistent with
each other, e.g. a number-of-items field that is followed by the expected number of elements. When
such complex inputs are inconsistent, attackers could trigger unexpected errors, cause incorrect
actions to take place, or exploit latent vulnerabilities.
Relationships
CWE Version 4.14
CWE-1288: Improper Validation of Consistency within Input
CWE-1288: Improper Validation of Consistency within Input