CWE-319Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information

Description

The product transmits sensitive or security-critical data in cleartext in a communication channel that can be sniffed by unauthorized actors.

Common consequences

• Integrity,Confidentiality→Read Application Data,Modify Files or Directories
  Anyone can read the information by gaining access to the channel being used for communication. Many communication channels can be "sniffed" (monitored) by adversaries during data transmission. For example, in networking, packets can travers
• Integrity,Confidentiality→Read Application Data,Modify Files or Directories,Other
  When full communications are recorded or logged, such as with a packet dump, an adversary could attempt to obtain the dump long after the transmission has occurred and try to "sniff" the cleartext from the recorded communications in the dum

Potential mitigations

• Architecture and Design
  Before transmitting, encrypt the data using reliable, confidentiality-protecting cryptographic protocols.
• Implementation
  When using web applications with SSL, use SSL for the entire session from login to logout, not just for the initial login page.
• Implementation
  When designing hardware platforms, ensure that approved encryption algorithms (such as those recommended by NIST) protect paths from security critical data to trusted user applications.
• Testing
  Use tools and techniques that require manual (human) analysis, such as penetration testing, threat modeling, and interactive tools that allow the tester to record and modify an active session. These may be more effective than strictly automated techniques. This is especially the case with weaknesses that are related to design and business rules.
• Operation
  Configure servers to use encrypted channels for communication, which may include SSL or other secure protocols.

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