CAPEC Definitions / CAPEC-201
CAPEC-201: Serialized Data External Linking
An adversary creates a serialized data file (e.g. XML, YAML, etc...) that contains an external data reference. Because serialized data parsers may not validate documents with external references, there may be no checks on the nature of the reference in the external data. This can allow an adversary to open arbitrary files or connections, which may further lead to the adversary gaining access to information on the system that they would normally be unable to obtain.
Extended Description
No Extended Description.
Mitigations
Configure the serialized data processor to only retrieve external entities from trusted sources.
Relationships with other CAPECs
Prerequisites
The target must follow external data references without validating the validity of the reference target.
Related Weaknesses
CWE-829: Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere
