CWE - CWE-346: Origin Validation Error (4.20) Common Weakness Enumeration A community-developed list of SW & HW weaknesses that can become vulnerabilities Home > CWE List > CWE-346: Origin Validation Error (4.20) ID Lookup: * Home * About ▼ Who We Are User Stories History Documents Videos * Learn ▼ Basics Root Cause Mapping ► Guidance Quick Tips Examples How to Contribute Weakness Content FAQs Glossary * Access Content ▼ Top-N Lists ► Top 25 Software Top Hardware Top 10 KEV Weaknesses CWE List ► Current Version Reports Visualizations Releases Archive Downloads REST API * Community ▼ News ► Current News Blog Podcast News Archive CWE Board Working Groups & Special Interest Groups Email Lists * Search ▼ Search CWE List Search Website CWE Glossary Definition CWE-346: Origin Validation Error Weakness ID: 346 Vulnerability Mapping : ALLOWED This CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review (with careful review of mapping notes) Abstraction: Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. View customized information: Conceptual For users who are interested in more notional aspects of a weakness. Example: educators, technical writers, and project/program managers. Operational For users who are concerned with the practical application and details about the nature of a weakness and how to prevent it from happening. Example: tool developers, security researchers, pen-testers, incident response analysts. Mapping Friendly For users who are mapping an issue to CWE/CAPEC IDs, i.e., finding the most appropriate CWE for a specific issue (e.g., a CVE record). Example: tool developers, security researchers. Complete For users who wish to see all available information for the CWE/CAPEC entry. Custom For users who want to customize what details are displayed. Edit Custom Filter Conceptual Operational Mapping Friendly Select All Reset Clear Submit Cancel Description The product does not properly verify that the source of data or communication is valid. Common Consequences This table specifies different individual consequences associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to achieve a different impact. Impact Details Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Varies by Context Scope: Access Control, Other An attacker can access any functionality that is inadvertently accessible to the source. Relationships This table shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore. Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (View-1000) Nature Type ID Name ChildOf Pillar - a weakness that is the most abstract type of weakness and represents a theme for all class/base/variant weaknesses related to it. A Pillar is different from a Category as a Pillar is still technically a type of weakness that describes a mistake, while a Category represents a common characteristic used to group related things. 284 Improper Access Control ChildOf Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 345 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity ParentOf Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 940 Improper Verification of Source of a Communication Channel ParentOf Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 1385 Missing Origin Validation in WebSockets PeerOf Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 451 User Interface (UI) Misrepresentation of Critical Information Relevant to the view "Software Development" (View-699) Nature Type ID Name MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 417 Communication Channel Errors MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1214 Data Integrity Issues Relevant to the view "Weaknesses for Simplified Mapping of Published Vulnerabilities" (View-1003) Nature Type ID Name ChildOf Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 345 Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity Relevant to the view "Architectural Concepts" (View-1008) Nature Type ID Name MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1014 Identify Actors Modes Of Introduction The different Modes of Introduction provide information about how and when this weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the life cycle at which introduction may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the given phase. Phase Note Architecture and Design Implementation REALIZATION: This weakness is caused during implementation of an architectural security tactic. Applicable Platforms This listing shows possible areas for which the given weakness could appear. These may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms, Technologies, or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given weakness appears for that instance. Languages Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence) Technologies Class: Not Technology-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence) Class: Web Based (Undetermined Prevalence) Demonstrative Examples Example 1 This Android application will remove a user account when it receives an intent to do so: (bad code) Example Language: Java IntentFilter filter = new IntentFilter("com.example.RemoveUser"); MyReceiver receiver = new MyReceiver(); registerReceiver(receiver, filter); public class DeleteReceiver extends BroadcastReceiver { @Override public void onReceive(Context context, Intent intent) { int userID = intent.getIntExtra("userID"); destroyUserData(userID); } } This application does not check the origin of the intent, thus allowing any malicious application to remove a user. Always check the origin of an intent, or create an allowlist of trusted applications using the manifest.xml file. Example 2 These Android and iOS applications intercept URL loading within a WebView and perform special actions if a particular URL scheme is used, thus allowing the Javascript within the WebView to communicate with the application: (bad code) Example Language: Java // Android @Override public boolean shouldOverrideUrlLoading(WebView view, String url){ if (url.substring(0,14).equalsIgnoreCase("examplescheme:")){ if(url.substring(14,25).equalsIgnoreCase("getUserInfo")){ writeDataToView(view, UserData); return false; } else{ return true; } } } (bad code) Example Language: Objective-C // iOS -(BOOL) webView:(UIWebView *)exWebView shouldStartLoadWithRequest:(NSURLRequest *)exRequest navigationType:(UIWebViewNavigationType)exNavigationType { NSURL *URL = [exRequest URL]; if ([[URL scheme] isEqualToString:@"exampleScheme"]) { NSString *functionString = [URL resourceSpecifier]; if ([functionString hasPrefix:@"specialFunction"]) { // Make data available back in webview. UIWebView *webView = [self writeDataToView:[URL query]]; } return NO; } return YES; } A call into native code can then be initiated by passing parameters within the URL: (attack code) Example Language: JavaScript window.location = examplescheme://method?parameter=value Because the application does not check the source, a malicious website loaded within this WebView has the same access to the API as a trusted site. Selected Observed Examples Note: this is a curated list of examples for users to understand the variety of ways in which this weakness can be introduced. It is not a complete list of all CVEs that are related to this CWE entry. Reference Description CVE-2000-1218 DNS server can accept DNS updates from hosts that it did not query, leading to cache poisoning CVE-2018-6074 Browser does not set Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) for a downloaded .EXE file if the name is close to the maximum path length, preventing recording of a zone identifier in the filename CVE-2025-0411 Zip file extraction program does not propagate Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) metadata to files that are extracted from an Internet-downloaded Zip file CVE-2025-46652 Zip file extraction program does not propagate Mark-of-the-Web (MotW) metadata to files that are extracted from an Internet-downloaded Zip file CVE-2005-0877 DNS server can accept DNS updates from hosts that it did not query, leading to cache poisoning CVE-2001-1452 DNS server caches glue records received from non-delegated name servers CVE-2005-2188 user ID obtained from untrusted source (URL) CVE-2003-0174 LDAP service does not verify if a particular attribute was set by the LDAP server CVE-1999-1549 product does not sufficiently distinguish external HTML from internal, potentially dangerous HTML, allowing bypass using special strings in the page title. Overlaps special elements. CVE-2003-0981 product records the reverse DNS name of a visitor in the logs, allowing spoofing and resultant XSS. Weakness Ordinalities Ordinality Description Primary (where the weakness exists independent of other weaknesses) Resultant (where the weakness is typically related to the presence of some other weaknesses) Detection Methods Method Details 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.) Memberships This MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits within the context of external information sources. Nature Type ID Name MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 949 SFP Secondary Cluster: Faulty Endpoint Authentication MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1353 OWASP Top Ten 2021 Category A07:2021 - Identification and Authentication Failures MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1382 ICS Operations (& Maintenance): Emerging Energy Technologies MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1411 Comprehensive Categorization: Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity MemberOf Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1442 OWASP Top Ten 2025 Category A07:2025 - Authentication Failures Vulnerability Mapping Notes Usage ALLOWED-WITH-REVIEW (this CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review) Reason Abstraction Rationale This CWE entry is a Class and might have Base-level children that would be more appropriate Comments Examine children of this entry to see if there is a better fit Notes Terminology The "Origin Validation Error" term was originally used in a 1995 thesis [ REF-324 ]. Although not formally defined, an issue is considered to be an origin validation error if either (1) "an object [accepts] input from an unauthorized subject," or (2) "the system [fails] to properly or completely authenticate a subject." A later section says that an origin validation error can occur when the system (1) "does not properly authenticate a user or process" or (2) "does not properly authenticate the shared data or libraries." The only example provided in the thesis (covered by OSVDB:57615) involves a setuid program running command-line arguments without dropping privileges. So, this definition (and its examples in the thesis) effectively cover other weaknesses such as CWE-287 (Improper Authentication), CWE-285 (Improper Authorization), and CWE-250 (Execution with Unnecessary Privileges). There appears to be little usage of this term today, except in the SecurityFocus vulnerability database, where the term is used for a variety of issues, including web-browser problems that allow violation of the Same Origin Policy and improper validation of the source of an incoming message. Maintenance This entry has some significant overlap with other CWE entries and may need some clarification. See terminology notes. Taxonomy Mappings Mapped Taxonomy Name Node ID Fit Mapped Node Name PLOVER Origin Validation Error ISA/IEC 62443 Part 3-3 Req SR 2.12 RE(1) ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SD-1 ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SR-2 ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SVV-1 ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 2.12 RE(1) ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 3.1 RE(1) Related Attack Patterns CAPEC-ID Attack Pattern Name CAPEC-111 JSON Hijacking (aka JavaScript Hijacking) CAPEC-141 Cache Poisoning CAPEC-142 DNS Cache Poisoning CAPEC-160 Exploit Script-Based APIs CAPEC-21 Exploitation of Trusted Identifiers CAPEC-384 Application API Message Manipulation via Man-in-the-Middle CAPEC-385 Transaction or Event Tampering via Application API Manipulation CAPEC-386 Application API Navigation Remapping CAPEC-387 Navigation Remapping To Propagate Malicious Content CAPEC-388 Application API Button Hijacking CAPEC-510 SaaS User Request Forgery CAPEC-59 Session Credential Falsification through Prediction CAPEC-60 Reusing Session IDs (aka Session Replay) CAPEC-75 Manipulating Writeable Configuration Files CAPEC-76 Manipulating Web Input to File System Calls CAPEC-89 Pharming References [REF-324] Taimur Aslam. "A Taxonomy of Security Faults in the UNIX Operating System". 1995-08-01. < https://cwe.mitre.org/documents/sources/ATaxonomyofSecurityFaultsintheUNIXOperatingSystem%5BAslam95%5D.pdf >. ( URL validated: 2024-11-17 ) Content History Submissions Submission Date Submitter Organization 2006-07-19 (CWE Draft 3, 2006-07-19) PLOVER Contributions Contribution Date Contributor Organization 2023-04-25 "Mapping CWE to 62443" Sub-Working Group CWE-CAPEC ICS/OT SIG Suggested mappings to ISA/IEC 62443. Modifications Modification Date Modifier Organization 2025-12-11 (CWE 4.19, 2025-12-11) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Applicable_Platforms, Detection_Factors, Relationships 2025-09-09 (CWE 4.18, 2025-09-09) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Observed_Examples 2024-11-19 (CWE 4.16, 2024-11-19) CWE Content Team MITRE updated References 2024-02-29 (CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Taxonomy_Mappings 2023-06-29 (CWE 4.12, 2023-06-29) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Mapping_Notes, Relationships 2023-04-27 (CWE 4.11, 2023-04-27) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings 2023-01-31 (CWE 4.10, 2023-01-31) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Description, Type 2022-04-28 (CWE 4.7, 2022-04-28) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Relationships 2021-10-28 (CWE 4.6, 2021-10-28) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Relationships 2020-06-25 (CWE 4.1, 2020-06-25) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Demonstrative_Examples, Terminology_Notes 2020-02-24 (CWE 4.0, 2020-02-24) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Relationships 2019-06-20 (CWE 3.3, 2019-06-20) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships 2017-11-08 (CWE 3.0, 2017-11-08) CWE Content Team MITRE updated Modes_of_Introduction, Refe