CWE WEAKNESSES / CWE-552
CWE-552
Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties
What it is
The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.
Web servers, FTP servers, and similar servers may store a set of files underneath a "root" directory that is accessible to the server's users. Applications may store sensitive files underneath this root without also using access control to limit which users may request those files, if any. Alternately, an application might package multiple files or directories into an archive file (e.g., ZIP or tar), but the application might not exclude sensitive files that are underneath those directories.In cloud technologies and containers, this weakness might present itself in the form of misconfigured storage accounts that can be read or written by a public or anonymous user.
Impact
| Confidentiality, Integrity | Read Files or Directories, Modify Files or Directories |
Mitigations
- [Implementation, System Configuration, Operation] When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.
Real-world CVE examples
- CVE-2005-1835 — Data file under web root.
Related weaknesses
Browse all common weaknesses, check related exploited CVEs, or map to ATT&CK techniques.
Source: MITRE CWE. View on cwe.mitre.org →