Download of Code Without Integrity Check

The product downloads source code or an executable from a remote location and executes the code without sufficiently verifying the origin and integrity of the code.

We track 122 vulnerabilities of this type. 100% are rated high or critical, and the average CVSS score is 8.4. 4 have been exploited in real attacks.

How this weakness is prevented

• Implementation: Perform proper forward and reverse DNS lookups to detect DNS spoofing.
• Architecture and Design Operation: Encrypt the code with a reliable encryption scheme before transmitting.
• Architecture and Design Operation: Run your code using the lowest privileges that are required to accomplish the necessary tasks. If possible, create isolated accounts with limited privileges that are only used for a single task. That way, a successful attack will not immediately give the attacker access to the rest of the software or its environment. For example, database applications rarely need to run as the database administrator, especially in day-to-day operations.