Covert Channel

A covert channel is a path that can be used to transfer information in a way not intended by the system's designers.

Abstraction

Class

Structure

Simple

Likelihood of Exploit

Medium

Understand the problem

What is the problem?

A covert channel is a path that can be used to transfer information in a way not intended by the system's designers.

Extended description

Typically the system has not given authorization for the transmission and has no knowledge of its occurrence.

Root cause

How and when does the problem arise?

Lifecycle phase

Implementation

Lifecycle phase

Operation

Risk

What does successful exploitation lead to?

Read Application DataBypass Protection Mechanism

Affected security scopes: Confidentiality, Access Control

Defence

How is it prevented and fixed?

Follow secure coding guidelines for input handling and boundary checking.
Enforce strict security reviews and automated static analysis (SAST) checks.

Verification

How is it detected?

Architecture or Design Review

SOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Inspection (IEEE 1028 standard) (can apply to requirements, design, source code, etc.)