CWE-648 (特权API的不正确使用) — Vulnerability Class 62

62 vulnerabilities classified as CWE-648 (特权API的不正确使用). AI Chinese analysis included.

CWE-648 represents a critical implementation flaw where software fails to adhere to the specific security requirements mandated by privileged application programming interfaces. This weakness typically arises when developers invoke functions requiring elevated privileges without properly validating the caller’s context or ensuring that all preconditions are met, such as verifying user permissions or sanitizing input data. Attackers exploit this gap by manipulating the execution environment to trigger these sensitive operations under unauthorized conditions, effectively bypassing access controls to gain higher system privileges. To prevent such vulnerabilities, developers must rigorously implement strict validation checks before invoking privileged APIs, ensuring that all assumptions regarding the caller’s identity and state are explicitly verified. Adhering to the API’s documented security protocols and employing defense-in-depth strategies further mitigates the risk of unintended privilege escalation.

MITRE CWE Description

The product does not conform to the API requirements for a function call that requires extra privileges. This could allow attackers to gain privileges by causing the function to be called incorrectly. When a product contains certain functions that perform operations requiring an elevated level of privilege, the caller of a privileged API must be careful to: ensure that assumptions made by the APIs are valid, such as validity of arguments account for known weaknesses in the design/implementation of the API call the API from a safe context If the caller of the API does not follow these requirements, then it may allow a malicious user or process to elevate their privilege, hijack the process, or steal sensitive data. For instance, it is important to know if privileged APIs do not shed their privileges before returning to the caller or if the privileged function might make certain assumptions about the data, context or state information passed to it by the caller. It is important to always know when and how privileged APIs can be called in order to ensure that their elevated level of privilege cannot be exploited.

Common Consequences (3)

Access Control Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

An attacker may be able to elevate privileges.

Confidentiality Read Application Data

An attacker may be able to obtain sensitive information.

Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands

An attacker may be able to execute code.

Mitigations (5)

Implementation Before calling privileged APIs, always ensure that the assumptions made by the privileged code hold true prior to making the call.

Architecture and Design Know architecture and implementation weaknesses of the privileged APIs and make sure to account for these weaknesses before calling the privileged APIs to ensure that they can be called safely.

Implementation If privileged APIs make certain assumptions about data, context or state validity that are passed by the caller, the calling code must ensure that these assumptions have been validated prior to making the call.

Implementation If privileged APIs do not shed their privilege prior to returning to the calling code, then calling code needs to shed these privileges immediately and safely right after the call to the privileged APIs. In particular, the calling code needs to ensure that a privileged thread of execution will never be returned to the user or made available to user-controlled processes.

Implementation Only call privileged APIs from safe, consistent and expected state.

CVE ID	Title	CVSS	Severity	Published
CVE-2019-3835	Artifex Software Ghostscript 访问控制错误漏洞 — ghostscript	5.5	-	2019-03-25
CVE-2019-3838	Artifex Software Ghostscript 访问控制错误漏洞 — ghostscript	5.5	-	2019-03-25

Vulnerabilities classified as CWE-648 (特权API的不正确使用) represent 62 CVEs. The CWE taxonomy describes the weakness; review individual CVEs for product-specific impact.