CAPEC-670
Software Development Tools Maliciously Altered
An adversary with the ability to alter tools used in a development environment causes software to be developed with maliciously modified tools. Such tools include requirements management and database tools, software design tools, configuration management tools, compilers, system build tools, and software performance testing and load testing tools. The adversary then carries out malicious acts once the software is deployed including malware infection of other systems to support further compromises.
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Explain the attack pattern CAPEC-670: Software Development Tools Maliciously Altered: how it unfolds, what it needs and how to prevent and detect it in my systems. Use https://capec.mitre.org/data/definitions/670.html and https://cve.bz/cve/capec/670?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
An adversary would need to have access to a targeted developer’s development environment and in particular to tools used to design, create, test and manage software, where the adversary could ensure malicious code is included in software packages built through alteration or substitution of tools in the environment used in the development of software.
Skills required
- High skill
Ability to leverage common delivery mechanisms (e.g., email attachments, removable media) to infiltrate a development environment to gain access to software development tools for the purpose of malware insertion into an existing tool or replacement of an existing tool with a maliciously altered copy.
Consequences
| Impact | Affects | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Execute Unauthorized Commands | Integrity | |
| Gain Privileges | Access Control | |
| Modify Data, Read Data | Confidentiality |
Mitigations
Have a security concept of operations (CONOPS) for the development environment that includes: Maintaining strict security administration and configuration management of requirements management and database tools, software design tools, configuration management tools, compilers, system build tools, and software performance testing and load testing tools.
Avoid giving elevated privileges to developers.
Related attack patterns
Examples
An adversary with access to software build tools inside an Integrated Development Environment IDE alters a sc…
An adversary with access to software build tools inside an Integrated Development Environment IDE alters a script used for downloading dependencies from a dependent code repository where the script has been changed to include malicious code implanted in the repository by the adversary.
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