VNX-538 – Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

Overview

VNX-538 maps to CWE-538: Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory. Detects source patterns associated with CWE-538 (Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory). Each finding should be manually reviewed for exploitability in context.

Severity: Medium | CWE: CWE-538 | Languages: node, python

Why This Matters

This weakness class (Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory) creates a concrete exploit surface: the rule searches for the concrete source-level patterns most commonly associated with CWE-538 and surfaces them for review. Each finding should be evaluated in context — the rule catches the pattern, not the context.

What Gets Flagged

// FLAGGED: contains '/tmp/' pattern
/tmp/

Remediation

  1. Review each flagged line and determine whether the pattern represents a real instance of CWE-538 or a false positive.
  2. Replace the flagged construct with a documented safe alternative appropriate to your language and framework.
  3. For confirmed false positives, add a # vulnetix-ignore: VNX-538 comment on the line.
  4. Ensure equivalent test coverage exists to prevent regression.

References