CWE-1193 Base Draft

Power-On of Untrusted Execution Core Before Enabling Fabric Access Control

This vulnerability occurs when a system powers up hardware components containing untrusted firmware before establishing critical security controls for the system's internal communication pathways…

Definition

What is CWE-1193?

This vulnerability occurs when a system powers up hardware components containing untrusted firmware before establishing critical security controls for the system's internal communication pathways and memory.
When a System-on-Chip (SoC) first boots, trusted firmware must be the first to configure the hardware's security settings. These settings, known as fabric access controls, act as gatekeepers for the chip's internal data highways and memory regions. If untrusted components—like peripheral microcontrollers or third-party IP cores—are activated before these gatekeepers are in place, they gain unrestricted access to the system's internal bus. From this privileged position, the untrusted firmware can initiate unauthorized transactions. It can read from or write to sensitive memory areas, including those holding the boot firmware itself. This allows it to tamper with the boot process, compromise the trusted firmware, and ultimately take control of the system from the very start of its operation.
Real-world impact

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-1193

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-1193

  • Architecture and Design The boot sequence should enable fabric access controls and memory protections before enabling third-party hardware IPs and peripheral microcontrollers that use untrusted firmware.
Detection signals

How to detect CWE-1193

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-1193 and opens a fix PR in under 60 seconds.

Codex Remedium scans every commit, identifies this exact weakness, and ships a reviewer-ready pull request with the patch. No tickets. No hand-offs.

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Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

What is CWE-1193?

This vulnerability occurs when a system powers up hardware components containing untrusted firmware before establishing critical security controls for the system's internal communication pathways and memory.

How serious is CWE-1193?

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-1193?

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

How can I prevent CWE-1193?

The boot sequence should enable fabric access controls and memory protections before enabling third-party hardware IPs and peripheral microcontrollers that use untrusted firmware.

How does Plexicus detect and fix CWE-1193?

Plexicus's SAST engine matches the data-flow signature for CWE-1193 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-1193?

MITRE publishes the canonical definition at https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/1193.html. You can also reference OWASP and NIST documentation for adjacent guidance.

Related weaknesses

Weaknesses related to CWE-1193

CWE-696 Parent

Incorrect Behavior Order

This weakness occurs when a system executes multiple dependent actions in the wrong sequence, leading to unexpected and potentially…

CWE-1190 Sibling

DMA Device Enabled Too Early in Boot Phase

This vulnerability occurs when a device with Direct Memory Access (DMA) capability is activated before the system's security settings are…

CWE-1279 Sibling

Cryptographic Operations are run Before Supporting Units are Ready

This vulnerability occurs when cryptographic processes start before their required dependencies are properly initialized and ready to…

CWE-1280 Sibling

Access Control Check Implemented After Asset is Accessed

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware-based security check runs after the protected resource has already been accessed, creating a…

CWE-179 Sibling

Incorrect Behavior Order: Early Validation

This vulnerability occurs when an application validates user input before applying security filters or data normalization. Attackers can…

CWE-408 Sibling

Incorrect Behavior Order: Early Amplification

This vulnerability occurs when a system allows a user to trigger a resource-intensive operation before verifying their identity or…

CWE-551 Sibling

Incorrect Behavior Order: Authorization Before Parsing and Canonicalization

This vulnerability occurs when a web server checks access permissions before fully processing and normalizing a URL, potentially allowing…

Resources

Further reading

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