Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort

Description

This vulnerability occurs when a system protects passwords by hashing them, but uses a hashing algorithm that is too fast or computationally cheap. This makes it easy for attackers to crack the stored password hashes using brute-force methods.

Extended Description

Storing password hashes instead of plaintext passwords is a fundamental security practice, but not all hashes are created equal. Fast, efficient cryptographic hashes like MD5 or SHA-1 are designed for speed, which becomes a major weakness for password storage. If an attacker steals these hashes (e.g., via a database breach), they can use powerful, parallel computing (like GPUs or cloud clusters) to test billions of password guesses per second, rapidly recovering user credentials. To resist these attacks, a password hashing scheme must be deliberately slow, memory-intensive, and include a unique salt for each password. Effective password hashing requires a combination of computational cost (key stretching), memory-hard operations, and salting to significantly slow down an attacker's offline cracking attempts. While SAST tools can detect the use of weak hash functions, Plexicus uses AI to analyze your codebase for these patterns and provides automated, context-aware remediation guidance, helping you upgrade to robust algorithms like Argon2, bcrypt, or scrypt efficiently. This shifts the security balance, making cracking attempts prohibitively expensive and time-consuming for attackers.

Common Consequences 1

Scope: Access Control

Impact: Bypass Protection MechanismGain 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.

Detection Methods 6

Automated Static Analysis - Binary or BytecodeSOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Bytecode Weakness Analysis - including disassembler + source code weakness analysis Binary Weakness Analysis - including disassembler + source code weakness analysis

Manual Static Analysis - Binary or BytecodeSOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Binary / Bytecode disassembler - then use manual analysis for vulnerabilities & anomalies

Manual Static Analysis - Source CodeHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Focused Manual Spotcheck - Focused manual analysis of source Manual Source Code Review (not inspections)

Automated Static Analysis - Source CodeHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Source code Weakness Analyzer Context-configured Source Code Weakness Analyzer

Automated Static AnalysisSOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Configuration Checker

Architecture or Design ReviewHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Formal Methods / Correct-By-Construction ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Inspection (IEEE 1028 standard) (can apply to requirements, design, source code, etc.)

Potential Mitigations 2

Phase: 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, since computing power gets faster and cheaper over time, the technique can be reconfigured to increase the workload without forcing an entire replacement of the algorithm in use. Some hash functions that have one or more of these desired properties include bcrypt [REF-291], scrypt [REF-292], and PBKDF2 [REF-293]. While there is active debate about which of these is the most effective, they are all stronger than using salts with hash functions with very little computing overhead. Note that using these functions can have an impact on performance, so they require special consideration to avoid denial-of-service attacks. However, their configurability provides finer control over how much CPU and memory is used, so it could be adjusted to suit the environment's needs.

Effectiveness: High

Phase: ImplementationArchitecture and Design

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

Demonstrative Examples 1

ID : DX-207

In this example, a new user provides a new username and password to create an account. The program hashes the new user's password then stores it in a database.

Code Example:Bad
Python
pythonUpdateUserLogin returns True on success, False otherwise*python

While it is good to avoid storing a cleartext password, the program does not provide a salt to the hashing function, thus increasing the chances of an attacker being able to reverse the hash and discover the original password if the database is compromised.

Fixing this is as simple as providing a salt to the hashing function on initialization:

Code Example:Good
Python
pythonUpdateUserLogin returns True on success, False otherwise*python

Note that regardless of the usage of a salt, the md5 hash is no longer considered secure, so this example still exhibits Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm.

Observed Examples 6

CVE-2008-1526Router does not use a salt with a hash, making it easier to crack passwords.

CVE-2006-1058Router does not use a salt with a hash, making it easier to crack passwords.

CVE-2008-4905Blogging software uses a hard-coded salt when calculating a password hash.

CVE-2002-1657Database server uses the username for a salt when encrypting passwords, simplifying brute force attacks.

CVE-2001-0967Server uses a constant salt when encrypting passwords, simplifying brute force attacks.

CVE-2005-0408chain: product generates predictable MD5 hashes using a constant value combined with username, allowing authentication bypass.

References 15

bcrypt

Johnny Shelley

https://bcrypt.sourceforge.net/(2025-07-24)

ID: REF-291