1402
Subdivide and allocate resources and components so that a failure in one part does not affect
the entire product.
Demonstrative Examples
Example 1:
Switches may revert their functionality to that of hubs when the table used to map ARP information
to the switch interface overflows, such as when under a spoofing attack. This results in traffic
being broadcast to an eavesdropper, instead of being sent only on the relevant switch interface.
To mitigate this type of problem, the developer could limit the number of ARP entries that can
be recorded for a given switch interface, while other interfaces may keep functioning normally.
Configuration options can be provided on the appropriate actions to be taken in case of a detected
failure, but safe defaults should be used.
Observed Examples
Reference Description
CVE-2007-5277 The failure of connection attempts in a web browser resets DNS pin
restrictions. An attacker can then bypass the same origin policy by rebinding a
domain name to a different IP address. This was an attempt to "fail functional."
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2007-5277
CVE-2006-4407 Incorrect prioritization leads to the selection of a weaker cipher. Although it
is not known whether this issue occurred in implementation or design, it is
feasible that a poorly designed algorithm could be a factor.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2006-4407
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 728 OWASP Top Ten 2004 Category A7 - Improper Error
Handling
711 2337
MemberOf 961 SFP Secondary Cluster: Incorrect Exception Behavior 888 2399
MemberOf 1369 ICS Supply Chain: IT/OT Convergence/Expansion 1358 2506
MemberOf 1418 Comprehensive Categorization: Violation of Secure
Design Principles
1400 2549
Notes
Research Gap
Since design issues are hard to fix, they are rarely publicly reported, so there are few CVE
examples of this problem as of January 2008. Most publicly reported issues occur as the result of
an implementation error instead of design, such as CVE-2005-3177 (Improper handling of large
numbers of resources) or CVE-2005-2969 (inadvertently disabling a verification step, leading to
selection of a weaker protocol).
Taxonomy Mappings
Mapped Taxonomy Name Node ID Fit Mapped Node Name
OWASP Top Ten 2004 A7 CWE More Specific Improper Error Handling
References
[REF-196]Jerome H. Saltzer and Michael D. Schroeder. "The Protection of Information in Computer
Systems". Proceedings of the IEEE 63. 1975 September. < http://web.mit.edu/Saltzer/www/
publications/protection/ >.
CWE Version 4.14
CWE-637: Unnecessary Complexity in Protection Mechanism (Not Using 'Economy of Mechanism')
CWE-637: Unnecessary Complexity in Protection
Mechanism (Not Using 'Economy of Mechanism')