CAPEC Details
Name Replace Binaries
Likelyhood of attack Typical severity
Low High
Summary Adversaries know that certain binaries will be regularly executed as part of normal processing. If these binaries are not protected with the appropriate file system permissions, it could be possible to replace them with malware. This malware might be executed at higher system permission levels. A variation of this pattern is to discover self-extracting installation packages that unpack binaries to directories with weak file permissions which it does not clean up appropriately. These binaries can be replaced by malware, which can then be executed.
Prerequisites The attacker must be able to place the malicious binary on the target machine.
Solutions Insure that binaries commonly used by the system have the correct file permissions. Set operating system policies that restrict privilege elevation of non-Administrators. Use auditing tools to observe changes to system services.
Related Weaknesses
CWE ID Description
CWE-732 Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Related CAPECS
CAPEC ID Description
CAPEC-17 An attack of this type exploits a system's configuration that allows an adversary to either directly access an executable file, for example through shell access; or in a possible worst case allows an adversary to upload a file and then execute it. Web servers, ftp servers, and message oriented middleware systems which have many integration points are particularly vulnerable, because both the programmers and the administrators must be in synch regarding the interfaces and the correct privileges for each interface.
Taxonomy: ATTACK
Entry ID Entry Name
1574.005 Hijack Execution Flow:Executable Installer File Permissions Weakness
1574.010 Hijack Execution Flow:Service File Permissions Weakness
Taxonomy: OWASP Attacks
Entry ID Entry Name
Link Binary planting