Weakness · Medium

CWE-541: Inclusion of Sensitive Information in an Include File

What it is

If an include file source is accessible, the file can contain usernames and passwords, as well as sensitive information pertaining to the application and system.

MITRE CWE 4.19.1

Severity (our rating)
Medium
Likelihood of exploit
Not rated by MITRE
Introduced during
Implementation
Exploited in the wild
No CVE in CISA's catalog

What an attacker can do

  • Read Application Data (Confidentiality)

How to prevent it

Architecture and Design

  • Do not store sensitive information in include files.
  • Protect include files from being exposed.

CWE-541 on MITRE's CWE site

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Source: MITRE Common Weakness Enumeration, CWE version 4.19.1. CWE is a trademark of The MITRE Corporation.