CWE-523: Unprotected Transport of Credentials

BaseIncomplete

Login pages do not use adequate measures to protect the user name and password while they are in transit from the client to the server.

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Technical Details

Structure
Simple
Vulnerability Mapping
ALLOWED

Applicable To

Languages
Not Language-Specific
Platforms

Source-backed guidance

Additional facts reviewed against primary or authoritative security sources.

Verify controls for CWE-523 with SSDF evidence

Use NIST SSDF verification and vulnerability-response practices to detect CWE-523, Unprotected Transport of Credentials, throughout the product lifecycle. Derive review questions, static or dynamic checks, and negative tests from the CWE's causal behavior; define the components and lifecycle stages each check covers; and retain findings with enough evidence to distinguish the root cause from symptoms and impacts. Track escapes and false negatives, then improve the verification plan after every confirmed occurrence.

NIST SP 800-218 Secure Software Development Framework — National Institute of Standards and Technology

Address Unprotected Transport of Credentials during Operation

MITRE associates mitigation with Operation, and System Configuration; documented detection approaches include Automated Static Analysis; recorded impacts include Gain Privileges or Assume Identity. Use these source-defined anchors to turn CWE-523 into implementation, review, and verification checks for the affected component.

CWE-523: Unprotected Transport of Credentials — MITRE CWE

Triage CWE-523 against known exploitation evidence

Use CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog to test whether a vulnerability mapped to CWE-523, Unprotected Transport of Credentials, has evidence of exploitation in the wild. Confirm the CVE-to-CWE root-cause mapping independently before attaching the example, then capture the affected product, required action, and remediation deadline. A missing KEV match is not evidence that the weakness is unexploited, and a KEV entry must not be generalized to every occurrence of this CWE.

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Apply precise root-cause mapping to CWE-523

Apply MITRE's full root-cause mapping guidance when using CWE-523, Unprotected Transport of Credentials. Separate weakness language from attacker prerequisites and technical impact, check the entry's abstraction and vulnerability-mapping notes, and prefer the most specific Base or Variant supported by the evidence. Record the rejected alternatives and require an independent review before the mapping is used for remediation trends or program metrics.

CVE to CWE Root Cause Mapping Guidance — MITRE CWE

Validate CWE-523 with root-cause mapping checks

Apply MITRE's root-cause mapping quick tips to CWE-523, Unprotected Transport of Credentials. Confirm the finding describes the causal weakness rather than an impact or attack pattern, compare the abstraction and mapping notes with plausible alternatives, and have a second reviewer challenge the selection. Preserve the evidence and reasoning so recurring defects can be measured against one consistent identifier.

CVE to CWE Root Cause Mapping Quick Tips — MITRE CWE

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-523: Unprotected Transport of Credentials?+

CWE-523: Unprotected Transport of Credentials is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. Login pages do not use adequate measures to protect the user name and password while they are in transit from the client to the server.

What are the security consequences of Unprotected Transport of Credentials?+

If exploited, CWE-523 (Unprotected Transport of Credentials) it can compromise Access Control, leading to outcomes such as Gain Privileges or Assume Identity.

How do you prevent or mitigate Unprotected Transport of Credentials?+

Recommended mitigations for CWE-523 include: Enforce SSL use for the login page or any page used to transmit user credentials or other sensitive information. Even if the entire site does not use SSL, it MUST use SSL for login. Additionally, to help prevent phishing attacks, make sure that SSL serves the login page. SSL allows the user to verify the identity of the server to which they are connecting. If the SSL serves login page, the user can be certain they are talking to the proper end system. A phishing attack would typically redirect a user to a site that does not have a valid trusted server certificate issued from an authorized supplier.

Which programming languages are affected by Unprotected Transport of Credentials?+

CWE-523 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. 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-523 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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