CWE-591: Sensitive Data Storage in Improperly Locked Memory
CWE版本: 4.18
更新日期: 2025-09-09
弱点描述
The product stores sensitive data in memory that is not locked, or that has been incorrectly locked, which might cause the memory to be written to swap files on disk by the virtual memory manager. This can make the data more accessible to external actors.
扩展描述
On Windows systems the VirtualLock function can lock a page of memory to ensure that it will remain present in memory and not be swapped to disk. However, on older versions of Windows, such as 95, 98, or Me, the VirtualLock() function is only a stub and provides no protection. On POSIX systems the mlock() call ensures that a page will stay resident in memory but does not guarantee that the page will not appear in the swap. Therefore, it is unsuitable for use as a protection mechanism for sensitive data. Some platforms, in particular Linux, do make the guarantee that the page will not be swapped, but this is non-standard and is not portable. Calls to mlock() also require supervisor privilege. Return values for both of these calls must be checked to ensure that the lock operation was actually successful.
常见后果
影响范围: Confidentiality
技术影响: Read Application Data Read Memory
说明: Sensitive data that is written to a swap file may be exposed.
潜在缓解措施
阶段: Architecture and Design
描述: Identify data that needs to be protected from swapping and choose platform-appropriate protection mechanisms.
阶段: Implementation
描述: Check return values to ensure locking operations are successful.
引入模式
| 阶段 | 说明 |
|---|---|
| Implementation | - |
分类映射
| 分类名称 | 条目ID | 条目名称 | 映射适配度 |
|---|---|---|---|
| OWASP Top Ten 2004 | A8 | Insecure Storage | CWE More Specific |
| CERT C Secure Coding | MEM06-C | Ensure that sensitive data is not written out to disk | - |
| Software Fault Patterns | SFP23 | Exposed Data | - |