Race Condition Format

ID

java.race_condition_format

Severity

high

Resource

Synchronization

Language

Java

Tags

CWE:362, NIST.SP.800-53, PCI-DSS:6.5.6

Description

Concurrent execution of format methods using shared resource with improper synchronization ('Race Condition').

Rationale

Race conditions occur when two or more threads access shared data concurrently and at least one of them writes to the shared data. If these accesses are not synchronized properly, the operations can interfere with each other, causing erroneous behavior.

In the context of security, race conditions can result in vulnerabilities whereby attackers exploit the timing window to bypass checks or inject malicious actions. This is classified under CWE-362, highlighting the need for thread-safe programming practices.

Consider the following Java code example, which demonstrates a potential race condition:

import java.text.SimpleDateFormat;

public class Dummy {

  private SimpleDateFormat sdf = new SimpleDateFormat("yyyy-MM-dd");

  public String format(Date date) {
    return sdf.format(date);
  }
}

Remediation

To remediate issues related to race conditions in Java applications, consider the following strategies:

  1. Use Synchronized Blocks/Methods: To ensure that only one thread modifies data at a time, use synchronized blocks or methods. This prevents multiple threads from interfering with each other when accessing shared resources.

  2. Utilize Concurrency Utilities: Leverage Java concurrency utilities such as ReentrantLock, AtomicInteger, and other classes from the java.util.concurrent package, which offer more advanced concurrency control for complex synchronization scenarios.

  3. Ensure Proper Thread Management: Design applications to minimize shared mutable state and follow thread-safe patterns, such as immutability and statelessness where possible.

  4. Conduct Thorough Testing: Perform exhaustive concurrent testing to detect and address race conditions and synchronization issues. Utilize tools and frameworks that facilitate testing of multithreaded applications.

By implementing these practices, Java applications can mitigate risks associated with race conditions, thereby improving reliability and security.

References