COMMON WEAKNESS ENUMERATIONIncomplete

CWE-257

Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format

The storage of passwords in a recoverable format makes them subject to password reuse attacks by malicious users. In fact, it should be noted that recoverable encrypted passwords provide no significant benefit over plaintext passwords since they are subject not only to reuse by malicious attackers but also by malicious insiders. If a system administrator can recover a password directly, or use a brute force search on the available information, the administrator can use the password on other accounts.

Abstraction

Base

Structure

Simple

Likelihood of Exploit

High

Understand the problem

What is the problem?

The storage of passwords in a recoverable format makes them subject to password reuse attacks by malicious users. In fact, it should be noted that recoverable encrypted passwords provide no significant benefit over plaintext passwords since they are subject not only to reuse by malicious attackers but also by malicious insiders. If a system administrator can recover a password directly, or use a brute force search on the available information, the administrator can use the password on other accounts.

Root cause

How and when does the problem arise?

Lifecycle phase

Architecture and Design

COMMISSION: This weakness refers to an incorrect design related to an architectural security tactic.

Risk

What does successful exploitation lead to?

Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

Affected security scopes: Confidentiality, Access Control

User's passwords may be revealed.
Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

Affected security scopes: Access Control

Revealed passwords may be reused elsewhere to impersonate the users in question.

Defence

How is it prevented and fixed?

Architecture and Design

Architecture and design approach

Detail
Use strong, non-reversible encryption to protect stored passwords.

Verification

How is it detected?

Automated Static Analysis

High
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.)
CWE-257: Common Weakness Enumeration Entry CWE-257 · DayBreach Sözlük · DayBreach