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Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere

🛡️ 4 rules detect this

Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere

The product imports, requires, or includes executable functionality from a source that is outside of the intended control sphere.

When software includes functionality from untrusted sources (such as third-party scripts, external modules, or code from untrusted URLs), attackers can inject malicious code that will be executed with the same privileges as the application.

Prevalence
High
Frequently exploited
Impact
High
3 high-severity rules
Prevention
Documented
4 fix examples
2 Prevention
2 Prevention

How to fix this vulnerability

Prevention strategies for Inclusion of Untrusted Functionality based on 4 Shoulder detection rules.

LLM Supply Chain Vulnerabilities HIGH

Use an allowlist for permitted models, verify integrity with checksums, and load models over HTTPS only

+17 -4 go
- func handler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
-     modelPath := r.FormValue("model")
-     model, _ := loadModel(modelPath)
-     resp, _ := http.Get("http://example.com/model.onnx")
+ var allowedModels = map[string]string{
+     "sentiment": "https://models.example.com/sentiment-v2.onnx",
+     "classify":  "https://models.example.com/classify-v1.onnx",
+ }
+ 
+ func handler(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
+     modelID := r.FormValue("model")
+     url, ok := allowedModels[modelID]
+     if !ok {
+         http.Error(w, "invalid model", http.StatusBadRequest)
+         return
+     }
+     data, _ := downloadModel(url)
+     if !verifyChecksum(data, expectedChecksums[modelID]) {
+         return fmt.Errorf("checksum verification failed")
+     }
+     model, _ := loadModel(data)
  }
  
LLM Supply Chain Vulnerabilities HIGH

Use allowlists for permitted models and verify integrity with checksums

+7 -2 javascript
- app.post('/predict', async (req, res) => {
-   const model = await loadModel(req.body.modelId);
+ const ALLOWED_MODELS = { 'sentiment-v1': true, 'classify-v2': true };
+ 
+ app.post('/predict', async (req, res) => {
+   if (!ALLOWED_MODELS[req.body.modelId]) {
+     return res.status(400).json({ error: 'Model not allowed' });
+   }
+   const model = await loadVerifiedModel(req.body.modelId);
    const result = await model.predict(req.body.input);
  });
  
Container Using Latest Tag MEDIUM

Pin container images to specific version tags or SHA digests for reproducible deployments

+1 -1 yaml
  apiVersion: v1
  kind: Pod
  spec:
    containers:
    - name: app
-     image: nginx:latest
+     image: nginx:1.25.3-alpine
  
LLM Supply Chain Vulnerabilities HIGH

Use weights_only=True with torch.load, avoid trust_remote_code=True, and maintain a model allowlist

+14 -3 python
  import torch
  from transformers import AutoModel
- 
- model = torch.load('model.pt')
- nlp_model = AutoModel.from_pretrained('custom/model', trust_remote_code=True)
+ from safetensors.torch import load_model
+ 
+ # Safe: weights_only prevents arbitrary code execution
+ model = torch.load('model.pt', weights_only=True)
+ 
+ # Even safer: use SafeTensors format
+ load_model(model, 'model.safetensors')
+ 
+ # Allowlist for HuggingFace models
+ ALLOWED_MODELS = ['bert-base-uncased', 'distilbert-base-uncased']
+ model_id = request.json['model']
+ if model_id not in ALLOWED_MODELS:
+     raise ValueError('Model not in allowlist')
+ nlp_model = AutoModel.from_pretrained(model_id)
  
3 Detection
3 Detection

Find vulnerabilities in your code

Use Shoulder to scan your codebase for Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere patterns. 4 rules.

terminal
# Scan with Shoulder CLI
npx @shoulderdev/cli trust --cwe=829

# Or scan entire project
npx @shoulderdev/cli trust .

Detection Rules (4)

4 Warning Signs
4 Warning Signs

What to watch for in code reviews

These patterns indicate potential Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere vulnerabilities. Look for these during code reviews and security audits.

🟠
Potential supply chain vulnerability: ... go-llm-supply-chain
🟠
supply chain vulnerabilities in AI/LLM implementations such as untrusted model sources or dynamic mo go-llm-supply-chain
🟠
potential supply chain vulnerabilities in AI/LLM implementations javascript-llm-supply-chain
🟡
Container image uses 'latest' tag or no tag. kubernetes-image-latest-tag
🟡
container images using 'latest' tag or no tag kubernetes-image-latest-tag
🔍

Scan your codebase for Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere

Shoulder CLI finds vulnerable patterns across your entire codebase.