CWE-1192

Base Abstraction Level
Pillar — Highest-level weakness category
Class — Abstract, language-independent
Base — Specific enough to detect
Variant — Tied to specific technology
Compound — Requires multiple weaknesses Draft MITRE CWE Status
Stable — Fully reviewed and complete
Draft — Under development, may change
Incomplete — Partially defined by MITRE
Deprecated — No longer recommended
Obsolete — Replaced by another CWE
Improper Identifier for IP Block used in System-On-Chip (SOC)

Description

The System-on-Chip (SoC) does not have unique, immutable identifiers for each of its components.

A System-on-Chip (SoC) comprises several components (IP) with varied trust requirements. It is required that each IP is identified uniquely and should distinguish itself from other entities in the SoC without any ambiguity. The unique secured identity is required for various purposes. Most of the time the identity is used to route a transaction or perform certain actions, including resetting, retrieving a sensitive information, and acting upon or on behalf of something else. There are several variants of this weakness: A "missing" identifier is when the SoC does not define any mechanism to uniquely identify the IP. An "insufficient" identifier might provide some defenses - for example, against the most common attacks - but it does not protect against everything that is intended. A "misconfigured" mechanism occurs when a mechanism is available but not implemented correctly. An "ignored" identifier occurs when the SoC/IP has not applied any policies or does not act upon the identifier securely.

Consequences

Access Control — Bypass Protection Mechanism

Mitigations

Phase: Architecture and Design

Every identity generated in the SoC should be unique and immutable in hardware. The actions that an IP is trusted or not trusted should be clearly defined, implemented, configured, and tested. If the definition is implemented via a policy, then the policy should be immutable or protected with clear authentication and authorization.