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#8 A08:2025

Data Integrity Failures

Data integrity failures relate to code and infrastructure that does not protect against integrity violations, including insecure deserialization and unsigned updates.

Overview

Renamed from 'Software and Data Integrity Failures' to 'Data Integrity Failures'. Focus on making assumptions related to software updates, critical data, and CI/CD pipelines without verifying integrity.

How Attackers Exploit This

Understanding attack patterns helps you build better defenses. These are the techniques security teams watch for.

Insecure deserialization

Untrusted data is deserialized by the application, potentially leading to remote code execution.

Detection signal: Serialized object patterns in requests, unexpected class instantiation errors

Unsigned updates

Software updates are accepted without verifying their authenticity, allowing malicious updates.

Detection signal: Update mechanisms that don't verify signatures, unsigned packages accepted

Data tampering

Critical data lacks integrity verification, allowing modification without detection.

Detection signal: Missing checksums, unsigned tokens, modifiable hidden fields

How to Prevent

  • Use digital signatures to verify software or data is from expected source
  • Ensure libraries and dependencies are from trusted repositories
  • Use software supply chain security tools to verify components
  • Ensure CI/CD pipeline has proper segregation and access control
  • Ensure unsigned or unencrypted serialized data is not sent to untrusted clients
  • Implement integrity checks for critical data

CWEs with Shoulder Detection (2)

These CWEs have Shoulder detection rules. Click to see specific vulnerabilities and fixes.

Other Mapped CWEs (8)

These CWEs are mapped to this category. Use MITRE references for guidance.