The product stores sensitive information in cleartext in memory.
View on MITREThe sensitive memory might be saved to disk, stored in a core dump, or remain uncleared if the product crashes, or if the programmer does not properly clear the memory before freeing it. It could be argued that such problems are usually only exploitable by those with administrator privileges. However, swapping could cause the memory to be written to disk and leave it accessible to physical attack afterwards. Core dump files might have insecure permissions or be stored in archive files that are accessible to untrusted people. Or, uncleared sensitive memory might be inadvertently exposed to attackers due to another weakness.
No mitigation information available for this CWE.
No detection method information available for this CWE.
Password protector leaves passwords in memory when window is minimized, even when "clear password when minimized" is set.
View DetailsNo relationship information available for this CWE.
CWE-316: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in Memory is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product stores sensitive information in cleartext in memory. The sensitive memory might be saved to disk, stored in a core dump, or remain uncleared if the product crashes, or if the programmer does not properly clear the memory before freeing it. It could be argued that such problems are usually only exploitable by those with administrator privileges. However, swapping could cause the memory to be written to disk and leave it accessible to physical attack afterwards. Core dump files might have insecure permissions or be stored in archive files that are accessible to untrusted people. Or, uncleared sensitive memory might be inadvertently exposed to attackers due to another weakness.
If exploited, CWE-316 (Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in Memory) it can compromise Confidentiality, leading to outcomes such as Read Memory.
CWE-316 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.
MITRE documents real CVEs mapped to CWE-316, including CVE-2001-1517, CVE-2001-0984 and CVE-2003-0291. You can look up the full details of each CVE, including CVSS scores and remediation guidance, on our CVE Lookup tool.
A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-316 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.