CWE-574 Variant Draft

EJB Bad Practices: Use of Synchronization Primitives

This vulnerability occurs when an Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) component improperly uses thread synchronization primitives, violating the EJB specification's design principles.

Definition

What is CWE-574?

This vulnerability occurs when an Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) component improperly uses thread synchronization primitives, violating the EJB specification's design principles.
The EJB specification explicitly prohibits the use of thread synchronization mechanisms like synchronized blocks or locks within enterprise beans. This rule exists because the container, not the developer, must manage concurrency and threading to ensure predictable behavior across different deployment environments. Violating this guideline creates portability risks. Some EJB containers run all bean instances in a single Java Virtual Machine (JVM), while others distribute them across multiple JVMs. Relying on synchronization primitives assumes a single JVM, which can lead to race conditions, deadlocks, or inconsistent behavior when the application is deployed to a compliant, distributed container.
Real-world impact

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-574

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 Java

In the following Java example a Customer Entity EJB provides access to customer information in a database for a business application.

Vulnerable Java 
@Entity
  public class Customer implements Serializable {
  		private String id;
  		private String firstName;
  		private String lastName;
  		private Address address;
  		public Customer() {...}
  		public Customer(String id, String firstName, String lastName) {...}
  		@Id
  		public String getCustomerId() {...}
  		public synchronized void setCustomerId(String id) {...}
  		public String getFirstName() {...}
  		public synchronized void setFirstName(String firstName) {...}
  		public String getLastName() {...}
  		public synchronized void setLastName(String lastName) {...}
  		@OneToOne()
  		public Address getAddress() {...}
  		public synchronized void setAddress(Address address) {...}
  }
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-574

  • Implementation Do not use Synchronization Primitives when writing EJBs.
Detection signals

How to detect CWE-574

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-574 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-574?

This vulnerability occurs when an Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) component improperly uses thread synchronization primitives, violating the EJB specification's design principles.

How serious is CWE-574?

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-574?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: Java.

How can I prevent CWE-574?

Do not use Synchronization Primitives when writing EJBs.

How does Plexicus detect and fix CWE-574?

Plexicus's SAST engine matches the data-flow signature for CWE-574 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-574?

MITRE publishes the canonical definition at https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/574.html. You can also reference OWASP and NIST documentation for adjacent guidance.

Related weaknesses

Weaknesses related to CWE-574

CWE-821 Parent

Incorrect Synchronization

This vulnerability occurs when multiple parts of a program, such as threads or processes, access a shared resource like a variable, file,…

CWE-1088 Sibling

Synchronous Access of Remote Resource without Timeout

This vulnerability occurs when an application makes a synchronous call to a remote service or resource but does not set a timeout, or sets…

CWE-1264 Sibling

Hardware Logic with Insecure De-Synchronization between Control and Data Channels

This vulnerability occurs when a hardware design incorrectly forwards data before its security or permission checks have finished…

CWE-572 Sibling

Call to Thread run() instead of start()

This vulnerability occurs when a program incorrectly calls a thread's `run()` method directly, instead of using the `start()` method. This…

Resources

Further reading

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