CWE-287: CWE-287: Improper Authentication

CWE-287: CWE-287: Improper Authentication is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. Description

Yes. CWE-287 ranked #12 in the CWE Top 25 for 2024, associated with 1,117 CVEs that year. The CWE Top 25 highlights the most common and impactful software weaknesses based on real-world vulnerability data.

If exploited, CWE-287 (CWE-287: Improper Authentication) it can compromise Read Application Data, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity and Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, leading to outcomes such as Scope: Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability, Access Control This weakness can lead to the exposure of resources or functionality to unintended actors and possibly providing attackers with sensitive information or even execute arbitrary code..

Recommended mitigations for CWE-287 include: Strategy: Libraries or Frameworks Use an authentication framework or library such as the OWASP ESAPI Authentication feature.

CWE-287 commonly affects Languages. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.

A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-287 describes a category of software weakness — the underlying flaw type. A CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) identifies a specific, real-world vulnerability in a particular product. In short, a CWE is the kind of mistake, and a CVE is an instance of that mistake being found in software.