CAPEC-519

Detailed Abstraction Level
Meta — Very abstract, high-level category
Standard — Specific enough to understand
Detailed — Tied to specific technique Draft MITRE CAPEC Status
Stable — Fully reviewed and complete
Draft — Under development
Incomplete — Partially defined
Deprecated — No longer recommended
Obsolete — Replaced by another CAPEC Likelihood: Low Severity: High
Documentation Alteration to Cause Errors in System Design

Description

An attacker with access to a manufacturer's documentation containing requirements allocation and software design processes maliciously alters the documentation in order to cause errors in system design. This allows the attacker to take advantage of a weakness in a deployed system of the manufacturer for malicious purposes.

Prerequisites

Advanced knowledge of software capabilities of a manufacturer's product.

Access to the manufacturer's documentation.

Mitigations

Digitize documents and cryptographically sign them to verify authenticity.

Password protect documents and make them read-only for unauthorized users.

Avoid emailing important documents and configurations.

Ensure deleted files are actually deleted.

Maintain multiple instances of the document across different privileged users for recovery and verification.

Skills Required

[High] Ability to read, interpret, and subsequently alter manufacturer's documentation to cause errors in system design.

[High] Ability to stealthly gain access via remote compromise or physical access to the manufacturer's documentation.