CWE-289: CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name

BaseStable

Description

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Technical Details

Structure
Simple
Vulnerability Mapping
ALLOWED

Applicable To

Languages
Languages
Platforms
Languages

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-289: CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name?+

CWE-289: CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. Description

What are the security consequences of CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name?+

If exploited, CWE-289 (CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name) it can compromise Bypass Protection Mechanism, leading to outcomes such as Scope: Access Control.

How do you prevent or mitigate CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name?+

Recommended mitigations for CWE-289 include: Strategy: Input Validation Avoid making decisions based on names of resources (e.g. files) if those resources can have alternate names. Strategy: Input Validation Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across related fields, and conformance to business rules. As an example of business rule logic, "boat" may be syntactically valid because it only contains alphanumeric characters, but it is not valid if the input is only expected to contain colors such as "red" or "blue." Do not rely exclusively on looking for malicious or malformed inputs. This is likely to miss at least one undesirable input, especially if the code's environment changes. This can give attackers enough room to bypass the intended validation. However, denylists can be useful for detecting potential attacks or determining which inputs are so malformed that they should be rejected outright. Strategy: Input Validation Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated ( CWE-180 ). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice ( CWE-174 ). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.

Which programming languages are affected by CWE-289: Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name?+

CWE-289 commonly affects Languages. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.

What is the difference between a CWE and a CVE?+

A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-289 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.

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