CWE-1390: Weak Authentication

What is Weak Authentication?

• Overview: Weak Authentication refers to a situation where the system uses an authentication mechanism that does not robustly verify the identity of a user, allowing unauthorized access through inadequate identity checks.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers can exploit this vulnerability by guessing credentials, using stolen credentials, or employing brute force attacks to bypass authentication.
• Common attack patterns include dictionary attacks, replay attacks, or exploiting weak password policies.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences of successful exploitation include unauthorized access to sensitive data or system functions by impostors.
• Potential cascading effects might involve privilege escalation, data breaches, and further exploitation of the system.
• Business impact can include loss of customer trust, financial losses, and legal repercussions due to compromised data.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Specific code-level fixes include implementing multi-factor authentication and using secure password storage techniques like hashing and salting.
• Security best practices involve enforcing strong password policies, regularly updating authentication algorithms, and conducting security audits.
• Recommended tools and frameworks include using established libraries for authentication such as OAuth, OpenID Connect, and regularly integrating security patches and updates.

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Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not Language-Specific

Affected Technologies: ICS/OT, Not Technology-Specific

Vulnerable Code Example

Sure, let's improve the provided code examples for CWE-1390 (Weak Authentication) by addressing the issues mentioned:

function authenticateUser(username, password) {
    // This is a weak authentication mechanism that uses plain text password comparison
    const userData = {
        username: 'admin',
        password: 'password123'  // Storing passwords as plain text is insecure
    };
    
    // Direct comparison of plain text passwords is vulnerable to various attacks
    if (username === userData.username && password === userData.password) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

How to fix Weak Authentication?

To fix this vulnerability, passwords should never be stored in plain text. Instead, use a cryptographic hashing function with salt, such as bcrypt, to store and verify passwords securely. Libraries such as bcryptjs or bcrypt can be used in Node.js environments to manage password hashing and verification.

Fixed Code Example

const bcrypt = require('bcryptjs');

function secureAuthenticateUser(username, password) {
    // Pre-hashed password for demonstration purposes
    const userData = {
        username: 'admin',
        // Password 'password123' hashed with bcrypt
        passwordHash: '\$2a\$10\$E9N9K1p4Z1tF9a7k8O6K0e8r9Z0Q3Y5O6J1P3Y6T9U8F2R3T4U5V6W' 
    };
    
    // Verify the password using bcrypt's compare function
    if (username === userData.username && bcrypt.compareSync(password, userData.passwordHash)) {
        return true;
    }
    return false;
}

Explanation

• Vulnerable Code: The vulnerable code example demonstrates a weak authentication mechanism by storing and comparing passwords in plain text. This makes it susceptible to attacks such as credential theft, brute force, and dictionary attacks.

• Fixed Code: The fixed code example uses bcrypt to hash passwords securely. By hashing passwords with a salt, it becomes computationally expensive to reverse the hash back to the original password, thus enhancing security. The bcrypt.compareSync function is used to verify the password against the stored hash, ensuring that authentication is both secure and efficient.

These changes ensure the examples are clear, realistic, and follow best practices for secure password management in JavaScript.