The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.

Web servers, FTP servers, and similar servers may store a set of files underneath a "root" directory that is accessible to the server's users. Applications may store sensitive files underneath this root without also using access control to limit which users may request those files, if any. Alternately, an application might package multiple files or directories into an archive file (e.g., ZIP or tar), but the application might not exclude sensitive files that are underneath those directories.
In cloud technologies and containers, this weakness might present itself in the form of misconfigured storage accounts that can be read or written by a public or anonymous user.

Primary

Resultant

Architecture and Design

Implementation
OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.

Operation
OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.

Confidentiality
Integrity
Read Files or Directories
Modify Files or Directories

Automated Static Analysis
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
High

Implementation
System Configuration
Operation
When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to disable public access.

The following Azure command updates the settings for a storage account:

az storage account update --name <storage-account> --resource-group <resource-group> --allow-blob-public-access true

However, "Allow Blob Public Access" is set to true, meaning that anonymous/public users can access blobs.
The command could be modified to disable "Allow Blob Public Access" by setting it to false.

az storage account update --name <storage-account> --resource-group <resource-group> --allow-blob-public-access false

The following Google Cloud Storage command gets the settings for a storage account named 'BUCKET_NAME':

gsutil iam get gs://BUCKET_NAME

Suppose the command returns the following result:

{

"bindings":[{

"members":[

"projectEditor: PROJECT-ID",
"projectOwner: PROJECT-ID"

],
"role":"roles/storage.legacyBucketOwner"

},
{

"members":[

"allUsers",
"projectViewer: PROJECT-ID"
],
"role":"roles/storage.legacyBucketReader"

}

]

}

This result includes the "allUsers" or IAM role added as members, causing this policy configuration to allow public access to cloud storage resources. There would be a similar concern if "allAuthenticatedUsers" was present.
The command could be modified to remove "allUsers" and/or "allAuthenticatedUsers" as follows:

gsutil iam ch -d allUsers gs://BUCKET_NAME
gsutil iam ch -d allAuthenticatedUsers gs://BUCKET_NAME

CVE-2005-1835
Data file under web root.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2005-1835

File or Directory

A10
Insecure Configuration Management
CWE More Specific

FIO15-C
Ensure that file operations are performed in a secure directory

Allowed
This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

CWE Community
2006-07-19
Draft 3
2006-07-19
Submitted by members of the CWE community to extend early CWE versions

Eric Dalci
Cigital
2008-07-01
updated Time_of_Introduction

Veracode
2008-08-15
Suggested OWASP Top Ten 2004 mapping

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-09-08
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-11-24
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2009-07-27
updated Relationships

Veracode
2010-09-09
Suggested OWASP Top Ten mapping

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2010-09-27
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2011-06-01
updated Common_Consequences

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2011-09-13
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2012-05-11
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2014-07-30
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2015-12-07
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2017-01-19
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2017-11-08
updated Affected_Resources, Modes_of_Introduction, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2019-01-03
updated Related_Attack_Patterns

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2019-06-20
updated Related_Attack_Patterns

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-02-24
updated Description, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-08-20
updated Related_Attack_Patterns

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2021-10-28
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-01-31
updated Applicable_Platforms, Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Potential_Mitigations, References

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-04-27
updated Applicable_Platforms, Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Detection_Factors, References, Relationships, Time_of_Introduction

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-06-29
updated Mapping_Notes

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-10-26
updated Observed_Examples

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2025-12-11
4.19
2025-12-11
updated Relationships, Weakness_Ordinalities

Errant Files or Directories Accessible