CWE-257: Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format

low-risk

The storage of passwords in a recoverable format makes them subject to password reuse attacks by malicious users. In fact, it should be noted that recoverable encrypted passwords provide no significant benefit over plaintext passwords since they are subject not only to reuse by malicious attackers but also by malicious insiders. If a system administrator can recover a password directly, or use a brute force search on the available information, the administrator can use the password on other accounts.

Abstraction: Base

Common Consequences

Confidentiality Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
Access Control Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

Detection Methods

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)

Real-World Examples (10)

CVE CVSS EPSS KEV
CVE-2025-57789 5.4 7.4%
CVE-2024-6694 2.7 3.3%
CVE-2023-23382 6.5 1.7%
CVE-2020-8296 6.7 0.6%
CVE-2022-32519 8.0 0.4%
CVE-2021-35050 6.5 0.3%
CVE-2019-5615 6.5 0.3%
CVE-2024-51552 6.0 0.3%
CVE-2021-0220 6.8 0.3%
CVE-2024-3073 2.7 0.3%
0
/ 100
low-risk
Active Threat 0/50 · Minimal
Exploit Availability 0/50 · Minimal