https://DevOpsCloud.io -- Cloud Monk Losang Jinpa, Ph.D., MCSE/MCT, GitOps DevOps Engineer

Return to Serialization Frameworks

Don't Return to Misconfigured Serialization Frameworks, Misconfigured Serialization Settings, Misconfigured Serialization Settings

TLDR: Misconfigured logging of deserialization errors can expose sensitive application details, including stack traces, object structures, and error messages. This can lead to data leakage, exploitation of vulnerabilities, and further attacks such as remote code execution (RCE). These risks arise from improperly managed logging practices and lack of secure error handling, violating several OWASP Top Ten principles, including secure Error Handling, Logging, and Access Controls.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Error_Handling

Improper logging of deserialization errors can reveal internal implementation details, such as class hierarchies or serialized object formats, to attackers. This disclosure violates the OWASP Top Ten's principle of secure Error Handling. Logging should mask sensitive data and provide generic error messages to external users while retaining meaningful information for internal debugging.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Logging_and_Monitoring_Cheat_Sheet

Exposing raw deserialization errors can aid attackers in crafting malicious serialized objects. These objects can be used for insecure deserialization attacks, potentially resulting in RCE. Ensuring deserialization exceptions are sanitized in logs prevents such exploitation and aligns with OWASP Top Ten's recommendations on secure deserialization practices.

https://owasp.org/www-community/vulnerabilities/Insecure_Deserialization

Failing to encrypt or redact sensitive data in deserialization error logs increases the risk of data leakage. Logs containing unfiltered data fields, such as API keys or user credentials, can be exploited if accessed by unauthorized users. Encrypting log entries containing sensitive information complies with the OWASP Top Ten's Data Encryption standards.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Data_Encryption

Lack of Access Controls over logs can expose deserialization error information to unauthorized personnel. Ensuring logs are accessible only to authenticated and authorized users reduces the risk of data exposure or tampering, aligning with OWASP Top Ten's focus on secure Access Management.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Access_Control

Over-reliance on default logging configurations often results in verbose logging of deserialization errors, which can inadvertently expose sensitive application details. Customizing logging configurations to suppress unnecessary details while retaining meaningful debug information ensures compliance with OWASP Top Ten's best practices for Framework Defaults.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Framework_Security_Project

Neglecting to sanitize or filter serialized objects before logging them can allow attackers to inject malicious payloads into log files. Secure Logging practices, such as sanitizing inputs before logging, ensure alignment with OWASP Top Ten guidelines for secure monitoring and logging.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Logging_and_Monitoring_Cheat_Sheet

Improper handling of CORS or API configurations that include logged deserialization errors can lead to cross-domain permissions vulnerabilities. Ensuring strict origin controls and sanitizing responses prevents unauthorized access to sensitive log data, following OWASP Top Ten's Policy Enforcement principles.

https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/HTTP/CORS

Logging excessively large serialized objects or recursive errors without resource limits can result in denial of service attacks. Implementing constraints on log file sizes and rate-limiting logging operations prevents resource exhaustion and aligns with OWASP Top Ten's focus on secure resource management.

https://owasp.org/www-community/Denial_of_Service

Failing to regularly audit and update libraries used for serialization and logging increases the risk of exposing known vulnerabilities in outdated components. Conducting dependency checking and applying alerts for vulnerable components ensures logs are generated securely, following OWASP Top Ten's recommendations.

https://owasp.org/www-project-dependency-check/

Finally, failure to segregate logging environments for development, testing, and production increases the risk of exposing sensitive debugging information. Adopting environment-specific logging configurations and segregating sensitive logs adheres to OWASP Top Ten's guidance on secure Logging practices.

https://owasp.org/www-community/OWASP_Proactive_Controls