Kingdom: Environment

This section includes everything that is outside of the source code but is still critical to the security of the product that is being created. Because the issues covered by this kingdom are not directly related to source code, we separated it from the rest of the kingdoms.

J2EE Misconfiguration: Excessive Servlet Mappings

Java/JSP

Abstract

Multiple URL patterns map to a single Servlet, which often indicates poor a architecture or a lack of standardization.

Explanation

Multiple URL patterns that map to a single Servlet could be a sign that the Servlet performs too many functions.

Example 1: The following example maps five URL patterns to a single Servlet.


<servlet>
    <servlet-class>com.class.MyServlet</servlet-class>
    <load-on-startup>1</load-on-startup>
</servlet>

<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>MyServlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/myservlet</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>MyServlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/helloworld*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>MyServlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/servlet*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>MyServlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/mservlet*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

<servlet-mapping>
    <servlet-name>MyServlet</servlet-name>
    <url-pattern>/*</url-pattern>
</servlet-mapping>

References

[1] Sun Microsystems, Inc. Java Servlet Specification 2.4

[2] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration CWE ID 684

[3] Standards Mapping - OWASP API 2023 API8 Security Misconfiguration

[4] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2013 A5 Security Misconfiguration

[5] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2017 A6 Security Misconfiguration

[6] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2021 A05 Security Misconfiguration

desc.config.java.j2ee_misconfiguration_excessive_servlet_mappings