Kingdom: API Abuse
An API is a contract between a caller and a callee. The most common forms of API abuse are caused by the caller failing to honor its end of this contract. For example, if a program fails to call chdir() after calling chroot(), it violates the contract that specifies how to change the active root directory in a secure fashion. Another good example of library abuse is expecting the callee to return trustworthy DNS information to the caller. In this case, the caller abuses the callee API by making certain assumptions about its behavior (that the return value can be used for authentication purposes). One can also violate the caller-callee contract from the other side. For example, if a coder subclasses SecureRandom and returns a non-random value, the contract is violated.
Often Misused: MAC Address
Abstract
A MAC address is intended to be used as a network identifier. Because a MAC address permanently identifies a device, all apps using it as a user identifier have the same ID value. Therefore, by correlating information from various apps, it is possible to identify a device and its user, which threatens user privacy.
Explanation
A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to hardware network interfaces. These addresses are unique to every computer or mobile device and cannot be modified. A MAC address can uniquely identify a given device, indirectly identifying the person using the device as well. Only network components should use MAC addresses to connect the device to the network. Some applications tend to use it to identify a user to track and personalize the user's experience.
Typically, a MAC address is 6 bytes long, and can be represented in 6 groups, each group composed of two hexadecimal digits. The groups can be separated by either a colon or a hyphen; for example,
65:4A:9D:D8:98:F3 (or)
65-4A-9D-D8-98-F3
Typically, a MAC address is 6 bytes long, and can be represented in 6 groups, each group composed of two hexadecimal digits. The groups can be separated by either a colon or a hyphen; for example,
65:4A:9D:D8:98:F3 (or)
65-4A-9D-D8-98-F3
References
[1] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration CWE ID 359
[2] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2019 [4] CWE ID 200
[3] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2020 [7] CWE ID 200
[4] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2021 [20] CWE ID 200
[5] Standards Mapping - Common Weakness Enumeration Top 25 2024 [17] CWE ID 200
[6] Standards Mapping - DISA Control Correlation Identifier Version 2 CCI-001090
[7] Standards Mapping - General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Privacy Violation
[8] Standards Mapping - NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 4 SC-4 Information in Shared Resources (P1)
[9] Standards Mapping - NIST Special Publication 800-53 Revision 5 SC-4 Information in Shared System Resources
[10] Standards Mapping - OWASP Application Security Verification Standard 4.0 8.2.2 Client-side Data Protection (L1 L2 L3), 8.3.4 Sensitive Private Data (L1 L2 L3), 10.2.1 Malicious Code Search (L2 L3)
[11] Standards Mapping - OWASP Mobile 2014 M4 Unintended Data Leakage
[12] Standards Mapping - OWASP Mobile 2024 M6 Inadequate Privacy Controls
[13] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2007 A6 Information Leakage and Improper Error Handling
[14] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2013 A6 Sensitive Data Exposure
[15] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2017 A3 Sensitive Data Exposure
[16] Standards Mapping - OWASP Top 10 2021 A02 Cryptographic Failures
[17] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.1 Requirement 6.3.1
[18] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.2 Requirement 6.3.1
[19] Standards Mapping - Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard Version 3.2.1 Requirement 6.3.1
[20] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.2 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[21] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.3 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[22] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.4 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[23] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.5 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[24] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.6 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[25] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.7 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[26] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.8 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[27] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.9 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[28] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.10 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[29] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.11 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[30] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 4.1 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[31] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 5.1 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[32] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 5.2 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[33] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 5.3 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[34] Standards Mapping - Security Technical Implementation Guide Version 6.1 APSC-DV-002380 CAT II
[35] Standards Mapping - Web Application Security Consortium Version 2.00 Information Leakage (WASC-13)
[36] Standards Mapping - Web Application Security Consortium 24 + 2 Information Leakage
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