CWE-916

BaseIncomplete

Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort

The product generates a hash for a password, but it uses a scheme that does not provide a sufficient level of computational effort that would make password cracking attacks infeasible or expensive.

50 linked vulnerabilities

2 related weaknesses

Extended Description

The amount of CPU time required to compute the hash ("stretching")
The amount of memory required to compute the hash ("memory-hard" operations)
Including a random value, along with the password, as input to the hash computation ("salting")
Given a hash, there is no known way of determining an input (e.g., a password) that produces this hash value, other than by guessing possible inputs ("one-way" hashing)
Relative to the number of all possible hashes that can be generated by the scheme, there is a low likelihood of producing the same hash for multiple different inputs ("collision resistance")

Architecture and Design

Use an adaptive hash function that can be configured to change the amount of computational effort needed to compute the hash, such as the number of iterations ("stretching") or the amount of memory required. Some hash functions perform salting automatically. These functions can significantly increase the overhead for a brute force attack compared to intentionally-fast functions such as MD5. For example, rainbow table attacks can become infeasible due to the high computing overhead. Finally, sinc...

Implementation

Architecture and Design

When using industry-approved techniques, use them correctly. Don't cut corners by skipping resource-intensive steps (CWE-325). These steps are often essential for preventing common attacks.

Access Control

Bypass Protection Mechanism

Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

If an attacker can gain access to the hashes, then the lack of sufficient computational effort will make it easier to conduct brute force attacks using techniques such as rainbow tables, or specialized hardware such as GPUs, which can be much faster than general-purpose CPUs for computing hashes.

Automated Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode

Effectiveness: SOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful:

Bytecode Weakness Analysis - including disassembler + source code weakness analysis
Binary Weakness Analysis - including disassembler + source code weakness analysis

Manual Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode

Effectiveness: SOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: