Weakness ID: 260
Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWED This CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilitiesAbstraction: Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.
Description
The product stores a password in a configuration file that might be accessible to actors who do not know the password.
Extended Description
This can result in compromise of the system for which the password is used. An attacker could gain access to this file and learn the stored password or worse yet, change the password to one of their choosing.
Common Consequences
This table specifies different individual consequences
associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is
violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an
adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about
how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other
consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be
exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to
achieve a different impact.
| Impact | Details |
|---|---|
|
Gain Privileges or Assume Identity |
Scope: Access Control |
Potential Mitigations
| Phase(s) | Mitigation |
|---|---|
|
Architecture and Design |
Avoid storing passwords in easily accessible locations. |
|
Architecture and Design |
Consider storing cryptographic hashes of passwords as an alternative to storing in plaintext. |
Relationships
This table shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this
weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to
similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition,
relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user
may want to explore.
Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (View-1000)
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChildOf |
Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource.
|
522 | Insufficiently Protected Credentials |
| ParentOf |
Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.
|
13 | ASP.NET Misconfiguration: Password in Configuration File |
| ParentOf |
Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.
|
258 | Empty Password in Configuration File |
| ParentOf |
Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.
|
555 | J2EE Misconfiguration: Plaintext Password in Configuration File |
Relevant to the view "Software Development" (View-699)
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf |
Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.
|
255 | Credentials Management Errors |
Relevant to the view "Architectural Concepts" (View-1008)
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf |
Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.
|
1013 | Encrypt Data |
Modes
Of Introduction
The different Modes of Introduction provide information
about how and when this
weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the life cycle at which
introduction
may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the
given
phase.
| Phase | Note |
|---|---|
| Architecture and Design | OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase. |
| Implementation |
Applicable Platforms
This listing shows possible areas for which the given
weakness could appear. These
may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms,
Technologies,
or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given
weakness appears for that instance.
| Languages |
Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence) |
Demonstrative Examples
Example 1
Below is a snippet from a Java properties file.
(bad code)
Example Language: Java
webapp.ldap.username = secretUsername
webapp.ldap.password = secretPassword
Because the LDAP credentials are stored in plaintext, anyone with access to the file can gain access to the resource.
Example 2
The following examples show a portion of properties and configuration files for Java and ASP.NET applications. The files include username and password information but they are stored in cleartext.
This Java example shows a properties file with a cleartext username / password pair.
(bad code)
Example Language: Java
# Java Web App ResourceBundle properties file
...
webapp.ldap.username=secretUsername
webapp.ldap.password=secretPassword
...
The following example shows a portion of a configuration file for an ASP.Net application. This configuration file includes username and password information for a connection to a database but the pair is stored in cleartext.
(bad code)
Example Language: ASP.NET
...
<connectionStrings>
<add name="ud_DEV" connectionString="connectDB=uDB; uid=db2admin; pwd=password; dbalias=uDB;" providerName="System.Data.Odbc" />
</connectionStrings>
...
Username and password information should not be included in a configuration file or a properties file in cleartext as this will allow anyone who can read the file access to the resource. If possible, encrypt this information.
Selected Observed
Examples
Note: this is a curated list of examples for users to understand the variety of ways in which this weakness can be introduced. It is not a complete list of all CVEs that are related to this CWE entry.
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
|
A continuous delivery pipeline management tool stores an unencypted password in a configuration file. |
Weakness Ordinalities
| Ordinality | Description |
|---|---|
|
Primary |
(where the weakness exists independent of other weaknesses) |
Detection
Methods
| Method | Details |
|---|---|
|
Automated Static Analysis |
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.) Effectiveness: High |
Affected Resources
- File or Directory
Memberships
This MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that
reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a
weakness fits within the context of external information sources.
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. |
254 | 7PK - Security Features |
| MemberOf | Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. |
963 | SFP Secondary Cluster: Exposed Data |
| MemberOf | Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. |
1349 | OWASP Top Ten 2021 Category A05:2021 - Security Misconfiguration |
| MemberOf | Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. |
1396 | Comprehensive Categorization: Access Control |
| MemberOf | Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. |
1437 | OWASP Top Ten 2025 Category A02:2025 - Security Misconfiguration |
Vulnerability Mapping Notes
| Usage |
ALLOWED
(this CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities) |
| Reason | Acceptable-Use |
|
Rationale |
This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities. |
|
Comments |
Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction. |
Taxonomy
Mappings
| Mapped Taxonomy Name | Node ID | Fit | Mapped Node Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Pernicious Kingdoms | Password Management: Password in Configuration File |
References
Content
History
| Submissions |
||
|---|---|---|
| Submission Date | Submitter | Organization |
|
2006-07-19
(CWE Draft 3, 2006-07-19) |
7 Pernicious Kingdoms | |
 Modifications |
||
| Modification Date | Modifier | Organization |
|
2025-12-11
(CWE 4.19, 2025-12-11) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Relationships, Weakness_Ordinalities | ||
|
2023-10-26
(CWE 4.13, 2023-10-26) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Observed_Examples | ||
|
2023-06-29
(CWE 4.12, 2023-06-29) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Mapping_Notes | ||
|
2023-04-27
(CWE 4.11, 2023-04-27) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Detection_Factors, Relationships | ||
|
2023-01-31
(CWE 4.10, 2023-01-31) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Description | ||
|
2021-10-28
(CWE 4.6, 2021-10-28) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Relationships | ||
|
2021-03-15
(CWE 4.4, 2021-03-15) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Demonstrative_Examples | ||
|
2020-08-20
(CWE 4.2, 2020-08-20) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Relationships | ||
|
2020-02-24
(CWE 4.0, 2020-02-24) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated References, Relationships, Type | ||
|
2017-11-08
(CWE 3.0, 2017-11-08) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Affected_Resources, Applicable_Platforms, Modes_of_Introduction, Relationships | ||
|
2014-07-30
(CWE 2.8, 2014-07-31) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships | ||
|
2012-10-30
(CWE 2.3, 2012-10-30) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Demonstrative_Examples, Potential_Mitigations | ||
|
2012-05-11
(CWE 2.2, 2012-05-15) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated References, Relationships | ||
|
2011-06-01
(CWE 1.13, 2011-06-01) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Common_Consequences | ||
|
2008-10-14
(CWE 1.0.1, 2008-10-14) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Description | ||
|
2008-09-08
(CWE 1.0, 2008-09-09) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE |
| updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings | ||
|
2008-07-01
(CWE 1.0, 2008-09-09) |
Sean Eidemiller | Cigital |
| added/updated demonstrative examples | ||
|
2008-07-01
(CWE 1.0, 2008-09-09) |
Eric Dalci | Cigital |
| updated Time_of_Introduction | ||