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Common Weakness Enumeration

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ID

CWE CATEGORY: OWASP Top Ten 2017 Category A2 - Broken Authentication

Category ID: 1028
Vulnerability Mapping: PROHIBITED This CWE ID must not be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities
+ Summary
Weaknesses in this category are related to the A2 category in the OWASP Top Ten 2017.
+ Membership
Nature Type ID Name
MemberOf ViewView - a subset of CWE entries that provides a way of examining CWE content. The two main view structures are Slices (flat lists) and Graphs (containing relationships between entries). 1026 Weaknesses in OWASP Top Ten (2017)
HasMember BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 256 Plaintext Storage of a Password
HasMember ClassClass - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 287 Improper Authentication
HasMember BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 308 Use of Single-factor Authentication
HasMember CompositeComposite - a Compound Element that consists of two or more distinct weaknesses, in which all weaknesses must be present at the same time in order for a potential vulnerability to arise. Removing any of the weaknesses eliminates or sharply reduces the risk. One weakness, X, can be "broken down" into component weaknesses Y and Z. There can be cases in which one weakness might not be essential to a composite, but changes the nature of the composite when it becomes a vulnerability. 384 Session Fixation
HasMember ClassClass - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 522 Insufficiently Protected Credentials
HasMember BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 523 Unprotected Transport of Credentials
HasMember BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 613 Insufficient Session Expiration
HasMember BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 620 Unverified Password Change
HasMember BaseBase - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 640 Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password
+ Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Usage: PROHIBITED

(this CWE ID must not be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities)

Reason: Category

Rationale:

This entry is a Category. Using categories for mapping has been discouraged since 2019. Categories are informal organizational groupings of weaknesses that can help CWE users with data aggregation, navigation, and browsing. However, they are not weaknesses in themselves.

Comments:

See member weaknesses of this category.
+ References
[REF-957] "Top 10 2017". OWASP. 2017-04-12. <https://github.com/OWASP/Top10/blob/master/2017/OWASP%20Top%2010-2017%20(en).pdf>. URL validated: 2025-08-04.
+ Content History
+ Submissions
Submission Date Submitter Organization
2018-01-22
(CWE 3.1, 2018-03-29) 		CWE Content Team MITRE
+ Modifications
Modification Date Modifier Organization
2025-09-09
(CWE 4.18, 2025-09-09) 		CWE Content Team MITRE
updated References
2023-06-29
(CWE 4.12, 2023-06-29) 		CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Mapping_Notes
2023-04-27
(CWE 4.11, 2023-04-27) 		CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Mapping_Notes
2020-02-24
(CWE 4.0, 2020-02-24) 		CWE Content Team MITRE
updated References
2014-06-23
(CWE 2.7, 2014-06-23) 		CWE Content Team MITRE
updated Relationships
Page Last Updated: April 30, 2026
 

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