CWE-1338: Improper Protections Against Hardware Overheating
A hardware device is missing or has inadequate protection features to prevent overheating.
How it's found
Improper Protections Against Hardware Overheating is typically found by tracing untrusted input from where it enters the system to the point where it is used without the check or neutralization this weakness describes, combining manual code review with dynamic testing.
Hardware, electrical circuits, and semiconductor silicon have thermal side effects, such that some of the energy consumed by the device gets dissipated as heat and increases the temperature of the device. For example, in semiconductors, higher-operating frequency of silicon results in higher power dissipation and heat. The leakage current in CMOS circuits increases with temperature, and this creates positive feedback that can result in thermal runaway and damage the device permanently. Any device lacking protections such as thermal sensors, adequate platform cooling, or thermal insulation is susceptible to attacks by malicious software that might deliberately operate the device in modes that result in overheating. This can be used as an effective denial of service (DoS) or permanent denial of service (PDoS) attack. Depending on the type of hardware device and its expected usage, such thermal overheating can also cause safety hazards and reliability issues. Note that battery failures can also cause device overheating but the mitigations and examples included in this submission cannot reliably protect against a battery failure. There can be similar weaknesses with lack of protection from attacks based on overvoltage or overcurrent conditions. However, thermal heat is generated by hardware operation and the device should implement protection from overheating.
Consequences
- DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
Mitigations
- Architecture and Design: Temperature maximum and minimum limits should be enforced using thermal sensors both in silicon and at the platform level.
- Implementation: The platform should support cooling solutions such as fans that can be modulated based on device-operation needs to maintain a stable temperature.
Where this fits in a TurboPentest engagement
This weakness is not covered by the automated black-box pentest. IntegSec pentesters cover it in a manual engagement.
Frequently asked questions
What is CWE-1338?
A hardware device is missing or has inadequate protection features to prevent overheating.
How do you find Improper Protections Against Hardware Overheating?
Improper Protections Against Hardware Overheating is typically found by tracing untrusted input from where it enters the system to the point where it is used without the check or neutralization this weakness describes, combining manual code review with dynamic testing.
What is the impact of CWE-1338?
DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
Does TurboPentest test for Improper Protections Against Hardware Overheating?
This weakness is not covered by the automated black-box pentest. IntegSec pentesters cover it in a manual engagement.
Related CWEs
Written and reviewed by
Michel Chamberland - Founder & CEO, IntegSec
CISSP, OSCP, OSCE, CEH, GIAC, CCSK · 20+ years in offensive security
Michel has spent 20+ years on offensive security teams including IBM X-Force Red and Trustwave SpiderLabs, leading penetration tests, red team engagements, and breach response for Fortune 500 customers. He is the founder of IntegSec and the architect of TurboPentest.
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