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Base · Medium

CWE-620: Unverified Password Change

When setting a new password for a user, the product does not require knowledge of the original password, or using another form of authentication.

CWE-620 · Base Level ·3 CVEs ·2 Mitigations

Description

When setting a new password for a user, the product does not require knowledge of the original password, or using another form of authentication.

This could be used by an attacker to change passwords for another user, thus gaining the privileges associated with that user.

Potential Impact

Access Control

Bypass Protection Mechanism, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

Demonstrative Examples

This code changes a user's password.
Bad
$user = $_GET['user'];$pass = $_GET['pass'];$checkpass = $_GET['checkpass'];if ($pass == $checkpass) {SetUserPassword($user, $pass);}
While the code confirms that the requesting user typed the same new password twice, it does not confirm that the user requesting the password change is the same user whose password will be changed. An attacker can request a change of another user's password and gain control of the victim's account.

Mitigations & Prevention

Architecture and Design

When prompting for a password change, force the user to provide the original password in addition to the new password.

Architecture and Design

Do not use "forgotten password" functionality. But if you must, ensure that you are only providing information to the actual user, e.g. by using an email address or challenge question that the legitimate user already provided in the past; do not allow the current user to change this identity information until the correct password has been provided.

Real-World CVE Examples

CVE IDDescription
CVE-2025-4903Router web interface allows unverified password change
CVE-2007-0681Web app allows remote attackers to change the passwords of arbitrary users without providing the original password, and possibly perform other unauthorized actions.
CVE-2000-0944Web application password change utility doesn't check the original password.

CWE-1390: Weak Authentication

The product uses an authentication mechanism to restrict access to specific users or identities, but the mechanism does ...

Taxonomy Mappings

  • OWASP Top Ten 2004: A3 — Broken Authentication and Session Management
  • Software Fault Patterns: SFP31 — Missing authentication

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-620?

CWE-620 (Unverified Password Change) is a software weakness identified by MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration. It is classified as a Base-level weakness. When setting a new password for a user, the product does not require knowledge of the original password, or using another form of authentication.

How can CWE-620 be exploited?

Attackers can exploit CWE-620 (Unverified Password Change) to bypass protection mechanism, gain privileges or assume identity. This weakness is typically introduced during the Architecture and Design, Implementation phase of software development.

How do I prevent CWE-620?

Key mitigations include: When prompting for a password change, force the user to provide the original password in addition to the new password.

What is the severity of CWE-620?

CWE-620 is classified as a Base-level weakness (Medium abstraction). It has been observed in 3 real-world CVEs.