Cybersecurity glossary
What are Software or Data Integrity Failures?
Learn what software or data integrity failures are in the OWASP Top 10, how CI/CD trust gaps, unsigned updates, and insecure deserialization enable compromise, and how to protect supply chains.
Definition
Software or Data Integrity Failures is an OWASP Top 10 category (A08:2021) covering assumptions that software updates, CI/CD artifacts, critical data, and serialized objects are trustworthy without verifying integrity—enabling supply-chain compromise, unsigned updates, and insecure deserialization attacks.
Why software or data integrity failures matter
Modern apps are assembled, not handwritten. Software or Data Integrity Failures (OWASP A08) target the trust you place in updates, pipelines, plugins, and serialized state. When that trust is unverified, attackers ship their code inside your release process.
SolarWinds-style supply chain lessons apply at every scale: unsigned packages, mutable image tags, and insecure deserialization remain everyday A08 paths.
How integrity failures become compromise
Find an unverified trust point
Auto-update URLs, CI artifact stores, plugin marketplaces, or deserialize endpoints.
Substitute malicious content
Tamper with packages, images, workflow definitions, or serialized blobs in transit or at rest.
Victim accepts content as trusted
No signature, digest pin, or provenance check—so the substitute is installed or executed.
Code or logic runs as the app
Backdoors, ransomware, or silent data corruption execute with application privileges.
A08 patterns in the wild
CI/CD trust gaps
Unpinned actions, writable caches, and secrets exposed to untrusted pull requests.
Unsigned updates
Clients fetch and run binaries or scripts without signature or digest verification.
Insecure deserialization
Untrusted object graphs are reconstituted into executable or privileged application state.
Untrusted plugins
Extensions and webhooks loaded without integrity, origin, or permission constraints.
Integrity controls that hold
| Control | Notes |
|---|---|
| Signed artifacts | Sign releases and verify signatures before install or deploy |
| Pinned dependencies | Use digests/lockfiles; avoid floating latest tags in production |
| Pipeline hardening | Least privilege, protected branches, reviewed workflows, secret isolation |
| Provenance | Record and verify build provenance from source to artifact |
| Safe serialization | Prefer data-only formats; avoid native deserialize of untrusted input |
| Runtime allowlists | Restrict which update sources, plugins, and object types are accepted |
- Inventory auto-update, plugin, and dependency fetch paths in every product.
- Require cryptographic verification for client and agent updates.
- Pin CI actions and base images to digests; review third-party workflow changes.
- Block deserialize of untrusted data into executable object types.
- Separate build, sign, and deploy roles; protect signing keys in HSM/KMS.
- Generate SBOMs and alert on unexpected component changes.
- Treat mutable artifact repositories as high-risk until immutability is enforced.
- Tabletop a compromised dependency scenario with rollback and key rotation.
The practical takeaway
Software or Data Integrity Failures (OWASP A08) abuse unverified trust in code and data. Sign and pin what you ship, harden CI/CD, and never deserialize untrusted objects into executable application state.
Related security terms
Deserialization Attack
Abusing untrusted serialized objects to execute code or alter logic.
Unsafe Consumption of APIs
Trusting third-party API data without validation or integrity checks.
Insecure Design
Missing trust-boundary design often underlies integrity gaps.
Code Injection
A related execution outcome when untrusted artifacts are interpreted.
Frequently asked questions
What are software or data integrity failures in simple terms?
The system trusts code or data that was not verified—auto-updates without signatures, CI artifacts anyone could swap, or deserialized objects from untrusted sources.
How does CI/CD relate to OWASP A08?
Pipelines that pull unsigned dependencies, use mutable tags, or allow unreviewed workflow changes can ship attacker-controlled software as 'your' release.
Why are unsigned updates dangerous?
If clients or agents install updates without cryptographic verification, a MITM or compromised CDN can deliver malware as a legitimate upgrade.
Is insecure deserialization part of A08?
Yes. OWASP groups integrity failures that include deserializing untrusted data into objects that alter application logic or execute code.
What is a software bill of materials (SBOM) role?
SBOMs help inventory components so you can verify what you ship and respond when a dependency is compromised—supporting integrity and response, not replacing signatures.
How do teams verify artifact integrity?
Use signed commits/artifacts, immutable digests, provenance attestations, locked dependencies, and verified publish paths from build to runtime.
Can CDN HTTPS alone fix update integrity?
TLS protects the channel to the CDN, not whether the artifact was built by you. Signatures and provenance bind content to a trusted publisher.
References
Explore authoritative guidance and frameworks related to software or data integrity failures.
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