CWE-261: Weak Encoding for Password

What is Weak Encoding for Password?

• Overview: Weak Encoding for Password refers to using simple encoding techniques to hide passwords, which does not provide real security. This vulnerability occurs when passwords are stored in encoded forms like base 64, which are easy to decode, leaving the passwords exposed to attackers.

• Exploitation Methods:

• Attackers can easily decode weakly encoded passwords using well-known methods or tools.
• Common attack patterns include intercepting encoded passwords and decoding them to obtain the plaintext version.

• Security Impact:

• Direct consequences of successful exploitation include unauthorized access to systems or data.
• Potential cascading effects could involve further breaches into connected systems or lateral movement within a network.
• Business impact could include data breaches, loss of customer trust, financial losses, and potential legal consequences.

• Prevention Guidelines:

• Specific code-level fixes involve using strong cryptographic hashes with salting instead of simple encoding for password storage.
• Security best practices include implementing multi-factor authentication and regularly updating cryptographic practices.
• Recommended tools and frameworks include using libraries like BCrypt, PBKDF2, or Argon2 for password hashing.

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Technical Details

Likelihood of Exploit: Not specified

Affected Languages: Not Language-Specific

Affected Technologies: Not specified

Vulnerable Code Example

function encodePassword(password) {
    // Vulnerable code: Using Base64 encoding for password storage
    // Base64 encoding is not secure for passwords as it is easily reversible
    const encodedPassword = Buffer.from(password).toString('base64');
    return encodedPassword;
}

How to fix Weak Encoding for Password?

Instead of using Base64 encoding, which is not secure for passwords, you should employ a strong password hashing library like bcrypt.js. Bcrypt is specifically designed for hashing passwords securely by including features like salting and being computationally intensive, which helps prevent brute force attacks.

Fixed Code Example

const bcrypt = require('bcrypt');

function hashPassword(password) {
    // Fixed code: Using bcrypt to securely hash passwords
    // bcrypt provides built-in salting and is designed to be computationally intensive
    const saltRounds = 10;
    return bcrypt.hash(password, saltRounds)
        .then(hashedPassword => {
            return hashedPassword;
        })
        .catch(err => {
            throw new Error('Error hashing password');
        });
}

Explanation

In the vulnerable code example, Base64 encoding is used to "encode" passwords. This is a weak method because Base64 is easily reversible, making it unsuitable for password storage. Attackers can easily decode Base64 strings to retrieve the original password.

In the fixed code example, bcrypt is used to hash passwords. Bcrypt is a strong password hashing algorithm that includes features like salting (adding random data to the input of a hash function) and being computationally intensive, which makes it resistant to brute force attacks. The use of bcrypt ensures that even if the hashed password is compromised, it would be extremely difficult for attackers to retrieve the original password.