CWE-1089 Base Incomplete

Large Data Table with Excessive Number of Indices

This weakness occurs when an application uses a database table with a very large number of rows and creates too many indexes on it, degrading overall system performance.

Definition

What is CWE-1089?

This weakness occurs when an application uses a database table with a very large number of rows and creates too many indexes on it, degrading overall system performance.
Excessive indexing on massive tables creates a significant maintenance overhead. Every insert, update, or delete operation must also update all related index structures, which slows down write operations and consumes extra storage and memory. While specific thresholds depend on your system, a common guideline is to consider tables with over 1,000,000 rows as 'large' and to be cautious when creating more than three indexes on such a table. If an attacker can trigger or exploit these slow operations, this performance degradation can become a security vulnerability. For example, it could lead to denial of service (DoS) by exhausting database resources or causing timeouts. Developers should regularly review index usage and design, ensuring indexes serve critical queries without unnecessarily burdening the database during data modification tasks.
Real-world impact

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-1089

No public CVE references are linked to this CWE in MITRE's catalog yet.

How attackers exploit it

Step-by-step attacker path

  1. 1

    Identify a code path that handles untrusted input without validation.

  2. 2

    Craft a payload that exercises the unsafe behavior — injection, traversal, overflow, or logic abuse.

  3. 3

    Deliver the payload through a normal request and observe the application's reaction.

  4. 4

    Iterate until the response leaks data, executes attacker code, or escalates privileges.

Vulnerable code example

Vulnerable pseudo

MITRE has not published a code example for this CWE. The pattern below is illustrative — see Resources for canonical references.

Vulnerable pseudo 
// Example pattern — see MITRE for the canonical references.
function handleRequest(input) {
  // Untrusted input flows directly into the sensitive sink.
  return executeUnsafe(input);
}
Secure code example

Secure pseudo

Secure pseudo 
// Validate, sanitize, or use a safe API before reaching the sink.
function handleRequest(input) {
  const safe = validateAndEscape(input);
  return executeWithGuards(safe);
}
What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.
Prevention checklist

How to prevent CWE-1089

  • Architecture Use safe-by-default frameworks and APIs that prevent the unsafe pattern from being expressible.
  • Implementation Validate input at trust boundaries; use allowlists, not denylists.
  • Implementation Apply the principle of least privilege to credentials, file paths, and runtime permissions.
  • Testing Cover this weakness in CI: SAST rules + targeted unit tests for the data flow.
  • Operation Monitor logs for the runtime signals listed in the next section.
Detection signals

How to detect CWE-1089

SAST High

Run static analysis (SAST) on the codebase looking for the unsafe pattern in the data flow.

DAST Moderate

Run dynamic application security testing against the live endpoint.

Runtime Moderate

Watch runtime logs for unusual exception traces, malformed input, or authorization bypass attempts.

Code review Moderate

Code review: flag any new code that handles input from this surface without using the validated framework helpers.

Plexicus auto-fix

Plexicus auto-detects CWE-1089 and opens a fix PR in under 60 seconds.

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Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

What is CWE-1089?

This weakness occurs when an application uses a database table with a very large number of rows and creates too many indexes on it, degrading overall system performance.

How serious is CWE-1089?

MITRE has not published a likelihood-of-exploit rating for this weakness. Treat it as medium-impact until your threat model proves otherwise.

What languages or platforms are affected by CWE-1089?

MITRE has not specified affected platforms for this CWE — it can apply across most application stacks.

How can I prevent CWE-1089?

Use safe-by-default frameworks, validate untrusted input at trust boundaries, and apply the principle of least privilege. Cover the data-flow signature in CI with SAST.

How does Plexicus detect and fix CWE-1089?

Plexicus's SAST engine matches the data-flow signature for CWE-1089 on every commit. When a match is found, our Codex Remedium agent opens a fix PR with the corrected code, tests, and a one-line summary for the reviewer.

Where can I learn more about CWE-1089?

MITRE publishes the canonical definition at https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1089.html. You can also reference OWASP and NIST documentation for adjacent guidance.

Related weaknesses

Weaknesses related to CWE-1089

CWE-405 Parent

Asymmetric Resource Consumption (Amplification)

This vulnerability occurs when a system allows an attacker to trigger a disproportionate amount of resource consumption—like CPU, memory,…

CWE-1050 Sibling

Excessive Platform Resource Consumption within a Loop

This vulnerability occurs when a loop contains code that repeatedly consumes critical system resources like file handles, database…

CWE-1072 Sibling

Data Resource Access without Use of Connection Pooling

This weakness occurs when an application creates a new database connection for every request instead of using a managed connection pool.…

CWE-1073 Sibling

Non-SQL Invokable Control Element with Excessive Number of Data Resource Accesses

This weakness occurs when a client-side function or method makes an excessive number of individual data requests through a non-SQL data…

CWE-1084 Sibling

Invokable Control Element with Excessive File or Data Access Operations

This weakness occurs when a single function or method performs an excessive number of file or database operations, such as repeated reads,…

CWE-1094 Sibling

Excessive Index Range Scan for a Data Resource

This weakness occurs when a database query performs an index range scan that can access an unnecessarily large number of rows from a…

CWE-1176 Sibling

Inefficient CPU Computation

This weakness occurs when software uses inefficient algorithms or suboptimal CPU operations, performing unnecessary or overly complex…

CWE-406 Sibling

Insufficient Control of Network Message Volume (Network Amplification)

This vulnerability occurs when a system fails to properly limit the amount of network traffic it can generate in response to a request,…

CWE-407 Sibling

Inefficient Algorithmic Complexity

This vulnerability occurs when a software component uses an algorithm with poor worst-case performance. An attacker can exploit this by…

Resources

Further reading

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