Example 1
The following code excerpt stores a plaintext user account ID in a
browser cookie.
(Bad Code)
Example
Language: Java
response.addCookie( new Cookie("userAccountID", acctID);
Example 2
This code writes a user's login information to a cookie so the user
does not have to login again later.
(Bad Code)
Example
Language: PHP
function persistLogin($username, $password){
$data = array("username" => $username,
"password"=> $password);
setcookie ("userdata", $data);
}
The code stores the user's username and password in plaintext in a cookie on the user's machine. This exposes the user's login information if their computer is compromised by an attacker. Even if the user's machine is not compromised, this weakness combined with cross-site scripting (CWE-79) could allow an attacker to remotely copy the cookie.
Also note this example code also exhibits Plaintext Storage in a Cookie (CWE-315).
Example 3
The following code attempts to establish a connection, read in a
password, then store it to a buffer.
(Bad Code)
Example
Language: C
server.sin_family = AF_INET; hp = gethostbyname(argv[1]);
if (hp==NULL) error("Unknown host");
memcpy( (char *)&server.sin_addr,(char
*)hp->h_addr,hp->h_length);
if (argc < 3) port = 80;
else port = (unsigned short)atoi(argv[3]);
server.sin_port = htons(port);
if (connect(sock, (struct sockaddr *)&server, sizeof
server) < 0) error("Connecting");
...
while ((n=read(sock,buffer,BUFSIZE-1))!=-1) {
write(dfd,password_buffer,n);
...
While successful, the program does not encrypt the data before writing
it to a buffer, possibly exposing it to unauthorized actors.
Example 4
The following examples show a portion of properties and
configuration files for Java and ASP.NET applications. The files include
username and password information but they are stored in
plaintext.
This Java example shows a properties file with a plaintext username /
password pair.
(Bad Code)
Example
Language: Java
# Java Web App ResourceBundle properties file
...
webapp.ldap.username=secretUsername
webapp.ldap.password=secretPassword
...
The following example shows a portion of a configuration file for an
ASP.Net application. This configuration file includes username and
password information for a connection to a database but the pair is
stored in plaintext.
(Bad Code)
Example
Language: ASP.NET
...
<connectionStrings>
<add name="ud_DEV" connectionString="connectDB=uDB;
uid=db2admin; pwd=password; dbalias=uDB;"
providerName="System.Data.Odbc" />
</connectionStrings>
...
Username and password information should not be included in a configuration file or a properties file in plaintext as this will allow anyone who can read the file access to the resource. If possible, encrypt this information and avoid CWE-260 and CWE-13.
Description
