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Common Weakness Enumeration

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Home > CWE List > CWE-1391: Use of Weak Credentials (4.16)  
ID

CWE-1391: Use of Weak Credentials

Weakness ID: 1391
Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWED This CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review (with careful review of mapping notes)
Abstraction: Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource.
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+ Description
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.
+ Extended Description

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)

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.

+ Relationships
Section Help This table shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore.
+ Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (CWE-1000)
Nature Type ID Name
ChildOf Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 1390 Weak Authentication
ParentOf Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 521 Weak Password Requirements
ParentOf Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 798 Use of Hard-coded Credentials
ParentOf Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 1392 Use of Default Credentials
+ Modes Of Introduction
Section HelpThe different Modes of Introduction provide information about how and when this weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the life cycle at which introduction may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the given phase.
Phase Note
Requirements
Architecture and Design
Installation
Operation
+ Applicable Platforms
Section HelpThis listing shows possible areas for which the given weakness could appear. These may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms, Technologies, or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given weakness appears for that instance.

Languages

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)

Operating Systems

Class: Not OS-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)

Architectures

Class: Not Architecture-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)

Technologies

Class: ICS/OT (Undetermined Prevalence)

Class: Not Technology-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)

+ Demonstrative Examples

Example 1

In 2022, the OT:ICEFALL study examined products by 10 different Operational Technology (OT) vendors. The researchers reported 56 vulnerabilities and said that the products were "insecure by design" [REF-1283]. If exploited, these vulnerabilities often allowed adversaries to change how the products operated, ranging from denial of service to changing the code that the products executed. Since these products were often used in industries such as power, electrical, water, and others, there could even be safety implications.

Multiple OT products used weak credentials.


+ Observed Examples
Reference Description
Chain: JavaScript-based cryptocurrency library can fall back to the insecure Math.random() function instead of reporting a failure (CWE-392), thus reducing the entropy (CWE-332) and leading to generation of non-unique cryptographic keys for Bitcoin wallets (CWE-1391)
Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) uses default credentials for some SSH accounts
Distributed Control System (DCS) uses a deterministic algorithm to generate utility passwords
Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) uses a hard-coded SSH private key that is likely to be used in typical deployments
microcontroller board has default password, allowing admin access
data visualization/sharing package uses default secret keys or cookie values if they are not specified in environment variables
UART interface for AI speaker uses empty password for root shell
password manager does not generate cryptographically strong passwords, allowing prediction of passwords using guessable details such as time of generation
password generator for cloud application has small length value, making it easier for brute-force guessing
network-attached storage (NAS) system has predictable default passwords for a diagnostics/support account
IT asset management app has a default encryption key that is the same across installations
cloud cluster management product has a default master encryption key
Installation script has a hard-coded secret token value, allowing attackers to bypass authentication
Intrusion Detection System (IDS) uses the same static, private SSL keys for multiple devices and installations, allowing decryption of SSL traffic
Residential gateway uses the last 5 digits of the 'Network Name' or SSID as the default WEP key, which allows attackers to get the key by sniffing the SSID, which is sent in the clear
+ Memberships
Section HelpThis MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits within the context of external information sources.
Nature Type ID Name
MemberOf CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1396 Comprehensive Categorization: Access Control
+ Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Usage: ALLOWED-WITH-REVIEW

(this CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review)

Reason: Abstraction

Rationale:

This CWE entry is a Class and might have Base-level children that would be more appropriate

Comments:

Examine children of this entry to see if there is a better fit
+ Taxonomy Mappings
Mapped Taxonomy Name Node ID Fit Mapped Node Name
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 2-4 Req SP.09.02 RE(1)
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SR-3 b)
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SI-2 b)
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SI-2 d)
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SG-3 d)
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-1 Req SG-6 b)
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.1
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.2
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.5
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.7
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.8
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.9
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 1.14
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 2.1
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 4.3
ISA/IEC 62443 Part 4-2 Req CR 7.5
+ References
[REF-1303] Kelly Jackson Higgins. "Researchers Out Default Passwords Packaged With ICS/SCADA Wares". 2016-01-04. <https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/researchers-out-default-passwords-packaged-with-ics-scada-wares>. URL validated: 2022-10-11.
[REF-1304] ICS-CERT. "ICS Alert (ICS-ALERT-13-164-01): Medical Devices Hard-Coded Passwords". 2013-06-13. <https://www.cisa.gov/news-events/ics-alerts/ics-alert-13-164-01>. URL validated: 2023-04-07.
[REF-1283] Forescout Vedere Labs. "OT:ICEFALL: The legacy of "insecure by design" and its implications for certifications and risk management". 2022-06-20. <https://www.forescout.com/resources/ot-icefall-report/>.
[REF-1374] Unciphered. "Randstorm: You Can't Patch a House of Cards". 2023-11-14. <https://www.unciphered.com/blog/randstorm-you-cant-patch-a-house-of-cards>. URL validated: 2023-11-15.
+ Content History
+ Submissions
Submission Date Submitter Organization
2022-10-06
(CWE 4.9, 2022-10-13)
CWE Content Team MITRE
+ Contributions
Contribution Date Contributor Organization
2023-06-29
(CWE 4.12, 2023-06-29)
"Mapping CWE to 62443" Sub-Working Group CWE-CAPEC ICS/OT SIG
Suggested mappings to ISA/IEC 62443.
+ Modifications
Modification Date Modifier Organization
2023-01-31 CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Applicable_Platforms, Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples, References
2023-04-27 CWE Content Team MITRE
updated References, Relationships
2023-06-29 CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Mapping_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings
2024-02-29
(CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29)
CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Observed_Examples, References
2024-11-19
(CWE 4.16, 2024-11-19)
CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Observed_Examples
Page Last Updated: November 19, 2024