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Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes

🛡️ 5 rules detect this

Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes

The product receives input from an upstream component that specifies multiple attributes, properties, or fields that are to be initialized or updated in an object, but it does not properly control which attributes can be modified.

If the object contains attributes that are not intended to be modified, then an attacker can use the vulnerability to overwrite critical application values, gain privileges, or bypass security checks.

Prevalence
High
Frequently exploited
Impact
Critical
2 critical-severity rules
Prevention
Documented
5 fix examples
2 Prevention
2 Prevention

How to fix this vulnerability

Prevention strategies for Mass Assignment based on 5 Shoulder detection rules.

Django Mass Assignment Vulnerability HIGH

Use ModelForm with explicit fields whitelist instead of **kwargs or exclude

+14 -8 python
- from django.http import JsonResponse
- from .models import User
- 
- def update_user(request, user_id):
-     user = User.objects.get(id=user_id)
-     for key, value in request.POST.items():
-         setattr(user, key, value)
-     user.save()
+ from django import forms
+ from django.http import JsonResponse
+ from .models import User
+ 
+ class UserForm(forms.ModelForm):
+     class Meta:
+         model = User
+         fields = ['username', 'email', 'bio']
+ 
+ def update_user(request, user_id):
+     user = User.objects.get(id=user_id)
+     form = UserForm(request.POST, instance=user)
+     if form.is_valid():
+         form.save()
      return JsonResponse({'status': 'updated'})
  
Class/Attribute Pollution HIGH

Whitelist allowed attributes before using setattr() or __dict__.update()

+11 -7 python
- from flask import request
- 
- @app.route('/update', methods=['POST'])
- def update():
-     user = User.query.get(1)
-     data = request.get_json()
-     for key, value in data.items():
+ from flask import request, abort
+ 
+ ALLOWED_ATTRS = {"username", "email", "display_name"}
+ 
+ @app.route('/update', methods=['POST'])
+ def update():
+     user = User.query.get(1)
+     data = request.get_json()
+     for key, value in data.items():
+         if key not in ALLOWED_ATTRS:
+             abort(400, f"Cannot update field: {key}")
          setattr(user, key, value)
      db.session.commit()
      return 'Updated'
  
Serializer/Form Exposes Privilege Fields HIGH

Use explicit field lists in serializers and mark privilege fields as read-only

+2 -1 python
  from rest_framework import serializers
  from django.contrib.auth.models import User
  
  class UserSerializer(serializers.ModelSerializer):
      class Meta:
          model = User
-         fields = '__all__'
+         fields = ['id', 'username', 'email', 'first_name', 'last_name']
+         read_only_fields = ['id']
  
Prisma Mass Assignment Vulnerability CRITICAL

Validate input with Zod schema and use explicit field assignment instead of spreading req.body

+19 -10 javascript
  import { PrismaClient } from '@prisma/client';
- const prisma = new PrismaClient();
- 
- app.post('/api/users', async (req, res) => {
-   const user = await prisma.user.create({
-     data: { ...req.body }
-   });
-   res.json(user);
- });
- 
- // Attacker sends: { "email": "[email protected]", "role": "admin", "credits": 99999 }
+ import { z } from 'zod';
+ const prisma = new PrismaClient();
+ 
+ const createUserSchema = z.object({
+   email: z.string().email(),
+   name: z.string().min(1).max(100),
+ });
+ 
+ app.post('/api/users', async (req, res) => {
+   const input = createUserSchema.parse(req.body);
+   const user = await prisma.user.create({
+     data: {
+       email: input.email,
+       name: input.name,
+       role: 'user', // Set server-side, not from input
+     }
+   });
+   res.json(user);
+ });
  
TypeORM Mass Assignment Vulnerability CRITICAL

Use explicit field assignment or class-transformer with excludeExtraneousValues instead of spreading req.body

+18 -10 javascript
  import { getRepository } from 'typeorm';
- import { User } from './user.entity';
- 
- app.put('/api/users/:id', async (req, res) => {
-   const repo = getRepository(User);
-   const user = await repo.findOne(req.params.id);
-   Object.assign(user, req.body);
-   await repo.save(user);
-   res.json(user);
- });
- // Attacker sends: { "email": "[email protected]", "role": "admin", "isAdmin": true }
+ import { plainToClass } from 'class-transformer';
+ import { validate } from 'class-validator';
+ import { UpdateUserDto } from './update-user.dto';
+ 
+ app.put('/api/users/:id', async (req, res) => {
+   const dto = plainToClass(UpdateUserDto, req.body, {
+     excludeExtraneousValues: true,
+   });
+   const errors = await validate(dto);
+   if (errors.length > 0) return res.status(400).json({ errors });
+ 
+   const repo = getRepository(User);
+   const user = await repo.findOne(req.params.id);
+   user.email = dto.email;
+   user.username = dto.username;
+   await repo.save(user);
+   res.json(user);
+ });
  
3 Detection
3 Detection

Find vulnerabilities in your code

Use Shoulder to scan your codebase for Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes patterns. 5 rules.

terminal
# Scan with Shoulder CLI
npx @shoulderdev/cli trust --cwe=915

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

Detection Rules (5)

4 Warning Signs
4 Warning Signs

What to watch for in code reviews

These patterns indicate potential Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes vulnerabilities. Look for these during code reviews and security audits.

🟠
Django code that creates or updates models using all request data without validation django-mass-assignment
🟠
unsafe modification of class attributes or object __dict__ using user input python-class-pollution
🟠
serializers or forms that expose privilege-related fields without marking them as read-only python-serializer-privilege-exposure
🔴
... uses unvalidated user input in data parameter. Use explicit field whitelisting with validation. prisma-mass-assignment
🔴
Entity properties assigned directly from user input without whitelisting. This allows unauthorized field modification. typeorm-mass-assignment
🔍

Scan your codebase for Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes

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