Base · Medium

CWE-804: Guessable CAPTCHA

The product uses a CAPTCHA challenge, but the challenge can be guessed or automatically recognized by a non-human actor.

CWE-804 · Base Level ·1 CVEs

Description

The product uses a CAPTCHA challenge, but the challenge can be guessed or automatically recognized by a non-human actor.

An automated attacker could bypass the intended protection of the CAPTCHA challenge and perform actions at a higher frequency than humanly possible, such as launching spam attacks. There can be several different causes of a guessable CAPTCHA:

Potential Impact

Access Control, Other

Bypass Protection Mechanism, Other

Real-World CVE Examples

CVE IDDescription
CVE-2022-4036Chain: appointment booking app uses a weak hash (CWE-328) for generating a CAPTCHA, making it guessable (CWE-804)

Taxonomy Mappings

  • WASC: 21 — Insufficient Anti-Automation

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-804?

CWE-804 (Guessable CAPTCHA) is a software weakness identified by MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration. It is classified as a Base-level weakness. The product uses a CAPTCHA challenge, but the challenge can be guessed or automatically recognized by a non-human actor.

How can CWE-804 be exploited?

Attackers can exploit CWE-804 (Guessable CAPTCHA) to bypass protection mechanism, other. This weakness is typically introduced during the Architecture and Design, Implementation phase of software development.

How do I prevent CWE-804?

Follow secure coding practices, conduct code reviews, and use automated security testing tools (SAST/DAST) to detect this weakness early in the development lifecycle.

What is the severity of CWE-804?

CWE-804 is classified as a Base-level weakness (Medium abstraction). It has been observed in 1 real-world CVEs.