The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.

Because the information is stored in cleartext (i.e., unencrypted), attackers could potentially read it. Even if the information is encoded in a way that is not human-readable, certain techniques could determine which encoding is being used, then decode the information.

When organizations adopt cloud services, it can be easier for attackers to access the data from anywhere on the Internet.

In some systems/environments such as cloud, the use of "double encryption" (at both the software and hardware layer) might be required, and the developer might be solely responsible for both layers, instead of shared responsibility with the administrator of the broader system/environment.

Modes Of Introduction

Architecture and Design : OMISSION: This weakness is caused by missing a security tactic during the architecture and design phase.

Applicable Platforms

Language

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Technologies

Class: Cloud Computing (Undetermined)
Class: ICS/OT (Undetermined)
Class: Mobile (Undetermined)

Common Consequences

Observed Examples

Potential Mitigations

Phases : Implementation // System Configuration // Operation
When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to encrypt the data at rest. [REF-1297] [REF-1299] [REF-1301]

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.)
Effectiveness : High

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Rationale : This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Comments : Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Related Attack Patterns

Notes

Different people use "cleartext" and "plaintext" to mean the same thing: the lack of encryption. However, within cryptography, these have more precise meanings. Plaintext is the information just before it is fed into a cryptographic algorithm, including already-encrypted text. Cleartext is any information that is unencrypted, although it might be in an encoded form that is not easily human-readable (such as base64 encoding).

References

REF-7

Writing Secure Code
Michael Howard, David LeBlanc.
https://www.microsoftpressstore.com/store/writing-secure-code-9780735617223

REF-62

The Art of Software Security Assessment
Mark Dowd, John McDonald, Justin Schuh.

REF-172

Mobile App Top 10 List
Chris Wysopal.
https://www.veracode.com/blog/2010/12/mobile-app-top-10-list

REF-1283

OT:ICEFALL: The legacy of "insecure by design" and its implications for certifications and risk management
Forescout Vedere Labs.
https://www.forescout.com/resources/ot-icefall-report/

REF-1295

Over 80 US Municipalities' Sensitive Information, Including Resident's Personal Data, Left Vulnerable in Massive Data Breach
WizCase.
https://www.wizcase.com/blog/us-municipality-breach-report/

REF-1296

1,000 GB of local government data exposed by Massachusetts software company
Jonathan Greig.
https://www.zdnet.com/article/1000-gb-of-local-government-data-exposed-by-massachusetts-software-company/

REF-1297

AWS Foundational Security Best Practices controls
Amazon.
https://docs.aws.amazon.com/securityhub/latest/userguide/securityhub-controls-reference.html

REF-1299

Azure encryption overview
Microsoft.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/security/fundamentals/encryption-overview

REF-1301

Default encryption at rest
Google Cloud.
https://cloud.google.com/docs/security/encryption/default-encryption

REF-1307

CIS Microsoft Azure Foundations Benchmark version 1.5.0
Center for Internet Security.
https://www.cisecurity.org/benchmark/azure

REF-1310

Enable infrastructure encryption for double encryption of data
Microsoft.
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/storage/common/infrastructure-encryption-enable

Submission

Modifications