Vulnerability Mapping:ALLOWEDThis CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review
(with careful review of mapping notes)
Abstraction:
ClassClass - 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 supports user accounts that include a user's external
identifier or communications channel - such as email, phone number,
social media account, or domain name - but it does not properly verify
that the user actually controls the associated identifier or channel.
Common Consequences
This table specifies different individual consequences
associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is
violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an
adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about
how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other
consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be
exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to
achieve a different impact.
Impact
Details
Gain Privileges or Assume Identity; Bypass Protection Mechanism
Scope: Access Control, Authentication
If an external identifier is controlled by an attacker, such as
an email address, then the attacker might be able to perform a
"pre-hijacking attack" against a victim who creates or recovers their
account.
Potential Mitigations
Phase(s)
Mitigation
Architecture and Design; Implementation
Before changing the contact information, send a message
to the user with a confirmation code. Only make the change when the
user provides the correct code. Ensure that the confirmation code is
expired and rendered invalid if the user does not respond quickly
enough.
Relationships
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, Overlaps, and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user
may want to explore.
Relevant to the view "Complete Weakness Hierarchy" (View-1000)
Nature
Type
ID
Name
ChildOf
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.
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.
Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints
Modes
Of Introduction
The 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(s)
Note
Architecture and Design
Applicable Platforms
This 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.
Type
Applicable Platforms
Notes
Languages
Class: Not Language-Specific
(Undetermined Prevalence)
Architectures
Class: Not Architecture-Specific
(Undetermined Prevalence)
Technologies
Class: Not Technology-Specific
(Undetermined Prevalence)
Memberships
This 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
Grouping - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.
Avinash Sudhodanan and Andrew Paverd. "Pre-hijacked accounts: An Empirical Study of Security Failures in User Account Creation on the Web". 2022-05-22.
<https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.10174>.
(URL validated: 2026-10-26)
[REF-1574]
NIST. "NIST SP 800-63C-4: Digital Identity Guidelines: Identity Proofing and Enrollment. Section 3.8. Requirements for Confirmation Codes". 2025-07.
<https://doi.org/10.6028/NIST.SP.800-63A-4>.
(URL validated: 2026-10-26)
Content
History
Submissions
Submission Date
Submitter
Organization
2026-10-26
(CWE 5.0, 2026-10-28)
CWE Content Team
MITRE
Contributions
Contribution Date
Contributor
Organization
2023-02-06
(CWE 5.0, 2026-10-28)
Michal Biesieda
Submitted missing use of verification links for external identity verification
2022-06-22
(CWE 5.0, 2026-10-28)
Kurt Seifried
Cloud Security Alliance
Submitted a detailed suggestion for external identity verification
More information is available — Please edit the custom filter or select a different filter.
Description
This table specifies different individual consequences
associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is
violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an
adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about
how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other
consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be
exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to
achieve a different impact.
