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About CWE-732

MITRE lists these common consequences: Read Application Data, Read Files or Directories, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity, Modify Application Data, affecting confidentiality, access control, integrity.

MITRE name
Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource
Abstraction
Class: a very abstract weakness, typically independent of language or technology
Status
Draft

Mitigations

  • When using a critical resource such as a configuration file, check to see if the resource has insecure permissions (such as being modifiable by any regular user), and generate an error or even exit the software if there is a possibility that the resource could have been modified by an unauthorized party.
  • Divide the software into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Reduce the attack surface by carefully defining distinct user groups, privileges, and/or roles. Map these against data, functionality, and the related resources. Then set the permissions accordingly. This will allow you to maintain more fine-grained control over your resources.
  • Run the code in a "jail" or similar sandbox environment that enforces strict boundaries between the process and the operating system. This may effectively restrict which files can be accessed in a particular directory or which commands can be executed by the software.
  • During program startup, explicitly set the default permissions or umask to the most restrictive setting possible. Also set the appropriate permissions during program installation. This will prevent you from inheriting insecure permissions from any user who installs or runs the program.

Detection
MITRE lists these detection methods: Dynamic Analysis with Manual Results Interpretation (high), Manual Static Analysis - Source Code (high), Architecture or Design Review (high), Automated Static Analysis, Automated Dynamic Analysis.

CWE-732 in the KEV Catalog

as of 2026-11-14
All KEV statistics→
  • 4 CISA KEV entries name Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource (CWE-732) in their CVE record, tied for 57th among the 195 weaknesses named in the catalog.

Related Attack Patterns

10 of 11 CAPEC patterns
CAPEC-122Privilege AbuseMeta · Severity Medium · Likelihood High
CAPEC-17Using Malicious FilesStandard · Severity Very High · Likelihood High
CAPEC-62Cross Site Request ForgeryStandard · Severity Very High · Likelihood High
CAPEC-1Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLsStandard · Severity High · Likelihood High
CAPEC-180Exploiting Incorrectly Configured Access Control Security LevelsStandard · Severity Medium · Likelihood High
CAPEC-234Hijacking a privileged processStandard · Severity Medium
CAPEC-206Signing Malicious CodeDetailed · Severity Very High
CAPEC-60Reusing Session IDs (aka Session Replay)Detailed · Severity High · Likelihood High
CAPEC-61Session FixationDetailed · Severity High · Likelihood Medium
CAPEC-642Replace BinariesDetailed · Severity High

Showing the 10 most general patterns. All 11 related attack patterns on cwe.mitre.org →

CWE-732 Vulnerabilities

5 CVEs
CVECVSS
CVE-2026-123039KEV
Local privilege escalation to root in the DynamicCLI daemon via local world-writable control socket
7.8
CVE-2018-13374KEV
Fortinet FortiOS and FortiADC Improper Access Control Vulnerability
4.3
CVE-2022-22960KEV
VMware Multiple Products Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
7.8
CVE-2019-15752KEV
Docker Desktop Community Edition Privilege Escalation Vulnerability
7.8
CVE-2026-21902
Junos OS Evolved: PTX Series: A vulnerability allows a unauthenticated, network-based attacker to execute code as root
9.8

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-732?→

CWE-732 (Incorrect Permission Assignment for Critical Resource) is a MITRE CWE entry. The product specifies permissions for a security-critical resource in a way that allows that resource to be read or modified by unintended actors.

How many exploited vulnerabilities are classified as CWE-732?→

This database lists 5 CVE records mapped to CWE-732 by their CVE Numbering Authority. 4 of them are in the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA links 1 to known ransomware campaigns. Examples include CVE-2026-123039, CVE-2018-13374, CVE-2022-22960.

Weakness description, consequences, and mitigations from the CWE List, © The MITRE Corporation, used under the CWE Terms of Use. CWE mappings come from each CVE record's CNA. Exploited-in-the-wild data from the CISA KEV catalog (CC0). This site is not affiliated with or endorsed by MITRE or CISA. Attack patterns from CAPEC 3.9, © The MITRE Corporation, used under the CAPEC Terms of Use.