Missing Authentication for Critical Function

What is CWE-306?

Ruta del atacante paso a paso

1. 1

   In the following Java example the method createBankAccount is used to create a BankAccount object for a bank management application.

2. 2

   However, there is no authentication mechanism to ensure that the user creating this bank account object has the authority to create new bank accounts. Some authentication mechanisms should be used to verify that the user has the authority to create bank account objects.

3. 3

   The following Java code includes a boolean variable and method for authenticating a user. If the user has not been authenticated then the createBankAccount will not create the bank account object.

4. 4

   In 2022, the OT:ICEFALL study examined products by 10 different Operational Technology (OT) vendors. The researchers reported 56 vulnerabilities and said that the products were "insecure by design" [REF-1283]. If exploited, these vulnerabilities often allowed adversaries to change how the products operated, ranging from denial of service to changing the code that the products executed. Since these products were often used in industries such as power, electrical, water, and others, there could even be safety implications.

5. 5

   Multiple vendors did not use any authentication for critical functionality in their OT products.

How to prevent CWE-306

• Architecture and Design Divide the software into anonymous, normal, privileged, and administrative areas. Identify which of these areas require a proven user identity, and use a centralized authentication capability. Identify all potential communication channels, or other means of interaction with the software, to ensure that all channels are appropriately protected, including those channels that are assumed to be accessible only by authorized parties. Developers sometimes perform authentication at the primary channel, but open up a secondary channel that is assumed to be private. For example, a login mechanism may be listening on one network port, but after successful authentication, it may open up a second port where it waits for the connection, but avoids authentication because it assumes that only the authenticated party will connect to the port. In general, if the software or protocol allows a single session or user state to persist across multiple connections or channels, authentication and appropriate credential management need to be used throughout.
• Architecture and Design For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
• Architecture and Design Where possible, avoid implementing custom, "grow-your-own" authentication routines and consider using authentication capabilities as provided by the surrounding framework, operating system, or environment. These capabilities may avoid common weaknesses that are unique to authentication; support automatic auditing and tracking; and make it easier to provide a clear separation between authentication tasks and authorization tasks. In environments such as the World Wide Web, the line between authentication and authorization is sometimes blurred. If custom authentication routines are required instead of those provided by the server, then these routines must be applied to every single page, since these pages could be requested directly.
• Architecture and Design Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator [REF-45].
• Implementation / System Configuration / Operation When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data [REF-1297] [REF-1298] [REF-1302].

Frequently asked questions

Further reading

• MITRE — CWE-306 oficial https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/306.html
• Top 25 Series - Rank 19 - Missing Authentication for Critical Function https://www.sans.org/blog/top-25-series-rank-19-missing-authentication-for-critical-function/
• OWASP Enterprise Security API (ESAPI) Project https://owasp.org/www-project-enterprise-security-api/
• OT:ICEFALL: The legacy of "insecure by design" and its implications for certifications and risk management https://www.forescout.com/resources/ot-icefall-report/
• Over 80 US Municipalities' Sensitive Information, Including Resident's Personal Data, Left Vulnerable in Massive Data Breach https://www.wizcase.com/blog/us-municipality-breach-report/
• 1,000 GB of local government data exposed by Massachusetts software company https://www.zdnet.com/article/1000-gb-of-local-government-data-exposed-by-massachusetts-software-company/