CWE-1384—Improper Handling of Physical or Environmental Conditions

Weakness Name

Improper Handling of Physical or Environmental Conditions

Description

The product does not properly handle unexpected physical or environmental conditions that occur naturally or are artificially induced.

Hardware products are typically only guaranteed to behave correctly within certain physical limits or environmental conditions. Such products cannot necessarily control the physical or external conditions to which they are subjected. However, the inability to handle such conditions can undermine a product's security. For example, an unexpected physical or environmental condition may cause the flipping of a bit that is used for an authentication decision. This unexpected condition could occur naturally or be induced artificially by an adversary. Physical or environmental conditions of concern are:

Common Consequences

Scope:

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability

Impact:

Varies by Context, Unexpected State

Notes:

Consequences of this weakness are highly dependent on the role of affected components within the larger product.

Related Weaknesses

• CWE-703Improper Check or Handling of Exceptional Conditions