CAPEC-263
Force Use of Corrupted Files
This describes an attack where an application is forced to use a file that an attacker has corrupted. The result is often a denial of service caused by the application being unable to process the corrupted file, but other results, including the disabling of filters or access controls (if the application fails in an unsafe way rather than failing by locking down) or buffer overflows are possible.
On this page
Ask an AI about this attack pattern
Show the prompt
Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-263: Force Use of Corrupted Files: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/263.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/263?via=ask-ai-copy, which lists recent CVEs with the weaknesses it exploits. Cite the sources.Opens a third-party assistant; its answer is its own, not cve.bz's. The prompt holds only this attack pattern's id and public links.
Prerequisites
The targeted application must utilize a configuration file that an attacker is able to corrupt. In some cases, the attacker must be able to force the (re-)reading of the corrupted file if the file is normally only consulted at startup.
The severity of the attack hinges on how the application responds to the corrupted file. If the application detects the corruption and locks down, this may result in the denial of services provided by the application. If the application fails to detect the corruption, the result could be a more severe denial of service (crash or hang) or even an exploitable buffer overflow. If the application detects the corruption but fails in an unsafe way, this attack could result in the continuation of services but without certain security structures, such as filters or access controls. For example, if the corrupted file configures filters, an unsafe response from an application could result in simply disabling the filtering mechanisms due to the lack of usable configuration data.
Resources required
This varies depending on the resources necessary to corrupt the configuration file and the resources needed to force the application to re-read it (if any).
Weaknesses it exploits
- CWE-829 Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere
Recent CVEs with these weaknesses
- 4.4CVE-2026-123858
In JetBrains PhpStorm before 2026.3 project files could be automatically uploaded to a deployment server from untrusted projects
- 5.5CVE-2026-123854
In JetBrains PyCharm before 2026.3 code execution was possible in Safe Mode via a crafted Jupyter notebook widget module
- 7.8CVE-2026-123853
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2026.3, 2026.2.2 code execution was possible in Safe Mode via project-controlled JVM options of the build process
- 7.0CVE-2026-123849
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2026.3 code execution was possible in untrusted projects via the Terraform File Watchers
- 3.3CVE-2026-123843
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2026.3 untrusted projects could trigger changes to GPG agent configuration
- 7.8CVE-2026-123838
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2026.3 code execution was possible in Safe Mode via UI Designer form file
- 3.6CVE-2026-123833
In JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA before 2026.3 database connections could be established in untrusted projects
- 9.6CVE-2026-123832
In JetBrains CLion before 2026.2 code execution was possible in Safe Mode via JSON compilation database
The newest records naming one of them. Each weakness's page lists them all.
Related attack patterns
- Part of
- CAPEC-17 Using Malicious Files
MITRE's words, unchanged: CAPEC-263 at MITRE. CAPEC is Copyright © 2007–2026, The MITRE Corporation, used under the CAPEC terms of use: “The MITRE Corporation (MITRE) hereby grants you a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC™) for research, development, and commercial purposes. Any copy you make for such purposes is authorized provided that you reproduce MITRE’s copyright designation and this license in any such copy.” CAPEC and the CAPEC logo are trademarks of The MITRE Corporation. Credits. All attack patterns.