CWE - CWE-256: Plaintext Storage of a Password (4.17)

Weakness ID: 256

Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWED This CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities
Abstraction: 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.

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Description

Storing a password in plaintext may result in a system compromise.

Extended Description

Password management issues occur when a password is stored in plaintext in an application's properties, configuration file, or memory. Storing a plaintext password in a configuration file allows anyone who can read the file access to the password-protected resource. In some contexts, even storage of a plaintext password in memory is considered a security risk if the password is not cleared immediately after it is used.

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	Scope: Access Control

Potential Mitigations

Phase(s)	Mitigation
Architecture and Design	Avoid storing passwords in easily accessible locations.
Architecture and Design	Consider storing cryptographic hashes of passwords as an alternative to storing in plaintext.
	A programmer might attempt to remedy the password management problem by obscuring the password with an encoding function, such as base 64 encoding, but this effort does not adequately protect the password because the encoding can be detected and decoded easily. Effectiveness: None

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 and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore.

Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (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.	522	Insufficiently Protected Credentials

Relevant to the view "Software Development" (View-699)

Nature	Type	ID	Name
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	255	Credentials Management Errors

Relevant to the view "Architectural Concepts" (View-1008)

Nature	Type	ID	Name
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1013	Encrypt Data

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	Note
Architecture and Design	OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.
Architecture and Design	Developers sometimes believe that they cannot defend the application from someone who has access to the configuration, but this belief makes an attacker's job easier.

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.

Languages	Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)
Technologies	Class: ICS/OT (Undetermined Prevalence)

Likelihood Of Exploit

High

Demonstrative Examples

Example 1

The following code reads a password from a properties file and uses the password to connect to a database.

(bad code)

Example Language: Java

...
Properties prop = new Properties();
prop.load(new FileInputStream("config.properties"));
String password = prop.getProperty("password");
DriverManager.getConnection(url, usr, password);
...

This code will run successfully, but anyone who has access to config.properties can read the value of password. If a devious employee has access to this information, they can use it to break into the system.

Example 2

The following code reads a password from the registry and uses the password to create a new network credential.

(bad code)

Example Language: Java

...
String password = regKey.GetValue(passKey).toString();
NetworkCredential netCred = new NetworkCredential(username,password,domain);
...

This code will run successfully, but anyone who has access to the registry key used to store the password can read the value of password. If a devious employee has access to this information, they can use it to break into the system

Example 3

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 cleartext.

This Java example shows a properties file with a cleartext 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 cleartext.

(bad code)

Example Language: ASP.NET

...
<connectionStrings>

</connectionStrings>
...

Username and password information should not be included in a configuration file or a properties file in cleartext as this will allow anyone who can read the file access to the resource. If possible, encrypt this information.

Example 4

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.

At least one OT product stored a password in plaintext.

Selected Observed Examples

Note: this is a curated list of examples for users to understand the variety of ways in which this weakness can be introduced. It is not a complete list of all CVEs that are related to this CWE entry.

Reference	Description
CVE-2022-30275	Remote Terminal Unit (RTU) uses a driver that relies on a password stored in plaintext.

Weakness Ordinalities

Ordinality	Description
Primary	(where the weakness exists independent of other weaknesses)

Detection Methods

Method

Details

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)

Effectiveness: High

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	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	254	7PK - Security Features
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	930	OWASP Top Ten 2013 Category A2 - Broken Authentication and Session Management
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	963	SFP Secondary Cluster: Exposed Data
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1028	OWASP Top Ten 2017 Category A2 - Broken Authentication
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1348	OWASP Top Ten 2021 Category A04:2021 - Insecure Design
MemberOf	Category - 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 (this CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities)
Reason	Acceptable-Use
Rationale	This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Comments	Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Taxonomy Mappings

Mapped Taxonomy Name	Node ID	Mapped Node Name
7 Pernicious Kingdoms		Password Management
Software Fault Patterns	SFP23	Exposed Data
ISA/IEC 62443	Part 4-2	Req CR 1.5
ISA/IEC 62443	Part 3-3	Req SR 1.5

References

[REF-6]	Katrina Tsipenyuk, Brian Chess and Gary McGraw. "Seven Pernicious Kingdoms: A Taxonomy of Software Security Errors". NIST Workshop on Software Security Assurance Tools Techniques and Metrics. NIST. 2005-11-07. <https://samate.nist.gov/SSATTM_Content/papers/Seven%20Pernicious%20Kingdoms%20-%20Taxonomy%20of%20Sw%20Security%20Errors%20-%20Tsipenyuk%20-%20Chess%20-%20McGraw.pdf>.
[REF-207]	John Viega and Gary McGraw. "Building Secure Software: How to Avoid Security Problems the Right Way". 1st Edition. Addison-Wesley. 2002.
[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/>.

Content History

Submissions
Submission Date	Submitter	Organization
2006-07-19 (CWE Draft 3, 2006-07-19)	7 Pernicious Kingdoms
2006-07-19 (CWE Draft 3, 2006-07-19)
Contributions
Contribution Date	Contributor	Organization
2023-11-14 (CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29)	participants in the CWE ICS/OT SIG 62443 Mapping Fall Workshop
2023-11-14 (CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29)	Contributed or reviewed taxonomy mappings for ISA/IEC 62443
Modifications
Modification Date	Modifier	Organization
2024-02-29 (CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29)	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2024-02-29 (CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29)	updated Taxonomy_Mappings
2023-06-29	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023-06-29	updated Mapping_Notes
2023-04-27	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023-04-27	updated Detection_Factors, Relationships
2023-01-31	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023-01-31	updated Applicable_Platforms
2022-10-13	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2022-10-13	updated Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples, References
2021-10-28	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2021-10-28	updated Relationships
2021-07-20	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2021-07-20	updated Description, Name, Relationships
2021-03-15	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2021-03-15	updated Demonstrative_Examples
2020-02-24	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2020-02-24	updated References, Relationships
2019-06-20	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2019-06-20	updated Type
2018-03-27	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2018-03-27	updated Name, Relationships
2017-11-08	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2017-11-08	updated Applicable_Platforms, Causal_Nature, Likelihood_of_Exploit, Modes_of_Introduction, Relationships
2014-07-30	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2014-07-30	updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2014-06-23	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2014-06-23	updated Description, Modes_of_Introduction, Other_Notes, Potential_Mitigations, Relationships
2012-10-30	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2012-10-30	updated Demonstrative_Examples, Potential_Mitigations
2012-05-11	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2012-05-11	updated Demonstrative_Examples, References, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2011-06-01	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2011-06-01	updated Common_Consequences, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2009-07-27	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2009-07-27	updated Demonstrative_Examples
2008-09-08	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2008-09-08	updated Relationships, Other_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings, Weakness_Ordinalities
Previous Entry Names
Change Date	Previous Entry Name
2008-01-30	Plaintext Storage
2018-01-23	Plaintext Storage of a Password
2018-03-27	Plaintext Storage of a Password
2021-07-20	Unprotected Storage of Credentials


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Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-256: Plaintext Storage of a Password

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