Weakness · High
CWE-1391: Use of Weak Credentials
What it is
The product uses weak credentials (such as a default key or hard-coded password) that can be calculated, derived, reused, or guessed by an attacker.
- Severity (our rating)
- High
- Likelihood of exploit
- Not rated by MITRE
- Introduced during
- Architecture and Design, Installation, Operation, Requirements
- Exploited in the wild
- No CVE in CISA's catalog
In more detail
By design, authentication protocols try to ensure that attackers must perform brute force attacks if they do not know the credentials such as a key or password. However, when these credentials are easily predictable or even fixed (as with default or hard-coded passwords and keys), then the attacker can defeat the mechanism without relying on brute force. Credentials may be weak for different reasons, such as: Hard-coded (i.e., static and unchangeable by the administrator) Default (i.e., the same static value across different deployments/installations, but able to be changed by the administrator) Predictable (i.e., generated in a way that produces unique credentials across deployments/installations, but can still be guessed with reasonable efficiency) Previously Compromised (i.e., "leaked" credentials that were published as part of a data breach) Even if a new, unique credential is intended to be generated for each product installation, if the generation is predictable, then that may also simplify guessing attacks.
What an attacker can do
- Bypass Protection Mechanism (Access Control)
How to prevent it
Architecture and Design
- When the user changes or sets a password, check the password against a database of already compromised or breached passwords. These passwords are likely to be used in password guessing attacks.
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Start freeSource: MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration, CWE version 4.19.1. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.