CWE Database
/

CWE-374

Back to CWE list

CWE-374

Passing Mutable Objects to an Untrusted Method

Base
Draft

Description

The product sends non-cloned mutable data as an argument to a method or function.

The function or method that has been called can alter or delete the mutable data. This could violate assumptions that the calling function has made about its state. In situations where unknown code is called with references to mutable data, this external code could make changes to the data sent. If this data was not previously cloned, the modified data might not be valid in the context of execution.

Common Consequences

Scope

Integrity

Impact

Modify Memory

Potential Mitigations

Implementation

Pass in data which should not be altered as constant or immutable.

Implementation

Clone all mutable data before passing it into an external function . This is the preferred mitigation. This way, regardless of what changes are made to the data, a valid copy is retained for use by the class.

Applicable Platforms

Object-Oriented
C
C++
Java
C#

Security Training

Train your team to recognize and prevent security threats with our comprehensive security awareness program.

Start Training

Vulnerability Scanning

Discover vulnerabilities in your applications and infrastructure before attackers do.

Scan Now