Improper Control of Interaction Frequency

Incomplete Class
Structure: Simple
Description

This vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly restrict how often or how many times a user or automated system can interact with it.

Extended Description

Without proper frequency limits, both human users and automated bots can perform actions far more often than intended. This flaw is commonly exploited to launch denial-of-service (DoS) attacks, bypass business logic (like voting systems or promotional offers), or brute-force credentials by making unlimited password attempts. Developers must implement controls like rate limiting, request throttling, and CAPTCHAs to enforce interaction boundaries. These measures are essential for protecting system availability, ensuring fair use, and preventing automated tools from exploiting core application functions.

Common Consequences 1
Scope: AvailabilityAccess ControlOther

Impact: DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)Bypass Protection MechanismOther

Demonstrative Examples 1
In the following code a username and password is read from a socket and an attempt is made to authenticate the username and password. The code will continuously checked the socket for a username and password until it has been authenticated.

Code Example:

Bad
C
c
This code does not place any restriction on the number of authentication attempts made. There should be a limit on the number of authentication attempts made to prevent brute force attacks as in the following example code.

Code Example:

Good
C
c
Observed Examples 1
CVE-2002-1876Mail server allows attackers to prevent other users from accessing mail by sending large number of rapid requests.
References 1
Insufficient Anti-automation
Web Application Security Consortium
ID: REF-731
Applicable Platforms
Languages:
Not Language-Specific : Undetermined
Modes of Introduction
Architecture and Design
Implementation
Operation
Alternate Terms

Insufficient anti-automation

The term "insufficient anti-automation" focuses primarly on non-human actors such as viruses or bots, but the scope of this CWE entry is broader.

Brute force

Vulnerabilities that can be targeted using brute force attacks are often symptomatic of this weakness.
Taxonomy Mapping
  • WASC