CWE-257: Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format

Description

The storage of passwords in a recoverable format makes them subject to password reuse attacks by malicious users. In fact, it should be noted that recoverable encrypted passwords provide no significant benefit over plaintext passwords since they are subject not only to reuse by malicious attackers but also by malicious insiders. If a system administrator can recover a password directly, or use a brute force search on the available information, the administrator can use the password on other accounts.

Potential Impact

Demonstrative Examples

int VerifyAdmin(char *password) {if (strcmp(compress(password), compressed_password)) {printf("Incorrect Password!\n");return(0);}printf("Entering Diagnostic Mode...\n");return(1);}

int VerifyAdmin(String password) {if (passwd.Equals(compress(password), compressed_password)) {return(0);}
                        //Diagnostic Mode
                        return(1);}

# Java Web App ResourceBundle properties file
                     ...webapp.ldap.username=secretUsernamewebapp.ldap.password=secretPassword...

...<connectionStrings><add name="ud_DEV" connectionString="connectDB=uDB; uid=db2admin; pwd=password; dbalias=uDB;" providerName="System.Data.Odbc" /></connectionStrings>...

Mitigations & Prevention

Detection Methods

• Automated Static Analysis High — 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 sea

Real-World CVE Examples

Related Weaknesses

Taxonomy Mappings

• CLASP: — Storing passwords in a recoverable format
• Software Fault Patterns: SFP23 — Exposed Data