Describe a Situation in Which a Weak but Easytouse Password May Be Adequate

CWE Glossary Definition

CWE-521: Weak Password Requirements

Weakness ID: 521

Abstraction: Base
Structure: Simple

Description

The product does not require that users should have strong passwords, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts.

Extended Description

Authentication mechanisms often rely on a memorized secret (also known as a password) to provide an assertion of identity for a user of a system. It is therefore important that this password be of sufficient complexity and impractical for an adversary to guess. The specific requirements around how complex a password needs to be depends on the type of system being protected. Selecting the correct password requirements and enforcing them through implementation are critical to the overall success of the authentication mechanism.

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" (CWE-1000)

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 "Software Development" (CWE-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

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 "Weaknesses for Simplified Mapping of Published Vulnerabilities" (CWE-1003)

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.	287	Improper Authentication

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 "Architectural Concepts" (CWE-1008)

Nature	Type	ID	Name
MemberOf	Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1010	Authenticate Actors

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	COMMISSION: This weakness refers to an incorrect design related to an architectural security tactic.
Implementation	Not enforcing the password policy stated in a products design can allow users to create passwords that do not provide the necessary level of protection.

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: Language-Independent (Undetermined Prevalence)

Technologies

Class: Technology-Independent (Undetermined Prevalence)

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.

Scope	Impact	Likelihood
Access Control	Technical Impact: Gain Privileges or Assume Identity An attacker could easily guess user passwords and gain access user accounts.

Potential Mitigations

Phase: Architecture and Design A product's design should require adherance to an appropriate password policy. Specific password requirements depend strongly on contextual factors, but it is recommended to contain the following attributes: Enforcement of a minimum and maximum length Restrictions against password reuse Restrictions against using common passwords Restrictions against using contextual string in the password (e.g., user id, app name) Depending on the threat model, the password policy may include several additional attributes. Complex passwords requiring mixed character sets (alpha, numeric, special, mixed case) Increasing the range of characters makes the password harder to crack and may be appropriate for systems relying on single factor authentication. Unfortunately, a complex password may be difficult to memorize, encouraging a user to select a short password or to incorrectly manage the password (write it down). Another disadvantage of this approach is that it often does not result in a significant increases in overal password complexity due to people's predictable usage of various symbols. Large Minimum Length (encouraging passphrases instead of passwords) Increasing the number of characters makes the password harder to crack and may be appropriate for systems relying on single factor authentication. A disadvantage of this approach is that selecting a good passphrase is not easy and poor passwords can still be generated. Some prompting may be needed to encourage long un-predictable passwords. Randomly Chosen Secrets Generating a password for the user can help make sure that length and complexity requirements are met, and can result in secure passwords being used. A disadvantage of this approach is that the resulting password or passpharse may be too difficult to memorize, encouraging them to be written down. Password Expiration Requiring a periodic password change can reduce the time window that an adversary has to crack a password, while also limiting the damage caused by password exposures at other locations. Password expiration may be a good mitigating technique when long complex passwords are not desired. See NIST 800-63B https://nvlpubs.nist.gov/nistpubs/SpecialPublications/NIST.SP.800-63b.pdf Sections: 5.1.1, 10.2.1, and Appendix A for further information on password requirements.

Phase: Architecture and Design Consider a second authentication factor beyond the password, which prevents the password from being a single point of failure. See CWE-308 for further information.

Phase: Implementation Consider implementing a password complexity meter to inform users when a chosen password meets the required attributes.

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.

Taxonomy Mappings

Mapped Taxonomy Name	Node ID	Fit	Mapped Node Name
OWASP Top Ten 2004	A3	CWE More Specific	Broken Authentication and Session Management

References

Content History

Submissions
Submission Date	Submitter	Organization
2006-07-19	Anonymous Tool Vendor (under NDA)
Modifications
Modification Date	Modifier	Organization
2008-07-01	Eric Dalci	Cigital
	updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction
2008-08-15		Veracode
	Suggested OWASP Top Ten 2004 mapping
2008-09-08	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Description, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2009-05-27	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2011-03-29	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Potential_Mitigations, Relationships
2011-06-01	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Common_Consequences
2012-05-11	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Common_Consequences, References, Relationships
2014-07-30	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Relationships
2017-11-08	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Modes_of_Introduction, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2019-06-20	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Relationships
2020-02-24	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Applicable_Platforms, Description, Modes_of_Introduction, Potential_Mitigations, References
2020-08-20	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2021-10-28	CWE Content Team	MITRE
	updated Relationships

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Source: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/521.html

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