CWE-489

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
Active Debug Code

Description

The product is released with debugging code still enabled or active.

Top Monitored CVEs

CVE-2022-20649
HIGH
8.1 11.6%
2024-11-15
CVE-2024-9643
CRITICAL
9.8 2.9%
2025-02-04

Consequences

Confidentiality, Integrity, Availability, Access Control, Other — Bypass Protection Mechanism, Read Application Data, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity, Varies by Context

Active debug code can create unintended entry points or expose sensitive information. The severity of the exposed debug code will depend on the particular instance. At the least, it will give an attacker sensitive information about the settings and mechanics of web applications on the server. At worst, as is often the case, the debug code will allow an attacker complete control over the web application and server, as well as confidential information that either of these access.

Mitigations

Phase: Build and Compilation, Distribution

Remove debug code before deploying the application.

Detection

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)