CriticalFile-scopeJava Plug & play

Always Verify Server Certificates in SSL/TLS Connections

Ensure that SSL/TLS certificate validation is always enabled to prevent Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks.

Why this matters

Disabling SSL/TLS certificate validation exposes applications to Man-in-the-Middle (MitM) attacks, allowing attackers to intercept and manipulate sensitive data.

Bad vs. good

Side-by-side examples engineers can pattern-match during review.

Avoid

class TrustAllManager implements X509TrustManager {

    @Override
    public void checkClientTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException {  // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public void checkServerTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException { // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public X509Certificate[] getAcceptedIssuers() {
        return null;
    }
}

Prefer

// (no example provided)

More snippets

Bad

class TrustAllManager implements X509TrustManager {

    @Override
    public void checkClientTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException {  // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public void checkServerTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException { // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public X509Certificate[] getAcceptedIssuers() {
        return null;
    }
}

Related rules

From the same buckets as this rule.

Critical
Always sanitize user inputs
Check if user inputs are sanitized before being used in rendering or database queries. Unsanitized inputs can lead to injection vulnerabilities like XSS or SQL injection.
security-hardening
Critical
Avoid modifying built-in prototypes
Detect modifications to built-in prototypes. Modifying built-in objects can lead to compatibility issues and unexpected behavior. Recommend creating helper functions instead.
maintainabilitysecurity-hardening
Critical
Avoid unprotected HTTP request redirections
Check if HTTP request redirections are unvalidated. Allowing arbitrary redirections can expose users to phishing attacks. Recommend validating and restricting URLs.
security-hardening

Bad vs. good

Side-by-side examples engineers can pattern-match during review.

Avoid

class TrustAllManager implements X509TrustManager {

    @Override
    public void checkClientTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException {  // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public void checkServerTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException { // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public X509Certificate[] getAcceptedIssuers() {
        return null;
    }
}

Prefer

// (no example provided)

More snippets

Bad

class TrustAllManager implements X509TrustManager {

    @Override
    public void checkClientTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException {  // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public void checkServerTrusted(X509Certificate[] chain, String authType) throws CertificateException { // Noncompliant
    }

    @Override
    public X509Certificate[] getAcceptedIssuers() {
        return null;
    }
}

Related rules

From the same buckets as this rule.

Critical

Always sanitize user inputs

Check if user inputs are sanitized before being used in rendering or database queries. Unsanitized inputs can lead to injection vulnerabilities like XSS or SQL injection.

security-hardening

Critical

Avoid modifying built-in prototypes

Detect modifications to built-in prototypes. Modifying built-in objects can lead to compatibility issues and unexpected behavior. Recommend creating helper functions instead.

maintainabilitysecurity-hardening

Critical

Avoid unprotected HTTP request redirections

Check if HTTP request redirections are unvalidated. Allowing arbitrary redirections can expose users to phishing attacks. Recommend validating and restricting URLs.

security-hardening