1965
[REF-963]Robert A. Martin and Lawrence H. Shafer. "Providing a Framework for
Effective Software Quality Assessment". 1996 July. < https://www.researchgate.net/
publication/285403022_PROVIDING_A_FRAMEWORK_FOR_EFFECTIVE_SOFTWARE_QUALITY_MEASUREMENT_>.2023-04-07.
CWE-1125: Excessive Attack Surface
Weakness ID : 1125
Structure : Simple
Abstraction : Base
Description
The product has an attack surface whose quantitative measurement exceeds a desirable
maximum.
Extended Description
Originating from software security, an "attack surface" measure typically reflects the number of
input points and output points that can be utilized by an untrusted party, i.e. a potential attacker.
A larger attack surface provides more places to attack, and more opportunities for developers to
introduce weaknesses. In some cases, this measure may reflect other aspects of quality besides
security; e.g., a product with many inputs and outputs may require a large number of tests in order
to improve code coverage.
Relationships
The table(s) below shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this
weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOr and give insight to
similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such
as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that may want to be explored.
Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (CWE-1000)
Nature Type ID Name Page
ChildOf 1120 Excessive Code Complexity 1960
Relevant to the view "Software Development" (CWE-699)
Nature Type ID Name Page
MemberOf 1226 Complexity Issues 2481
Weakness Ordinalities
Indirect :
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 1412 Comprehensive Categorization: Poor Coding Practices 1400 2538
References
[REF-966]Pratyusa Manadhata. "An Attack Surface Metric". 2008 November. < http://reportsarchive.
adm.cs.cmu.edu/anon/2008/CMU-CS-08-152.pdf >.
[REF-967]Pratyusa Manadhata and Jeannette M. Wing. "Measuring a System's Attack Surface".
2004. < http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/usr/wing/www/publications/ManadhataWing04.pdf >.
CWE Version 4.14
CWE-1126: Declaration of Variable with Unnecessarily Wide Scope
CWE-1126: Declaration of Variable with Unnecessarily Wide Scope