Observable Internal Behavioral Discrepancy
The product performs multiple behaviors that are combined to produce a single result, but the individual behaviors are observable separately in a way that allows attackers to reveal internal state or internal decision points.
Description
Ideally, a product should provide as little information as possible to an attacker. Any hints that the attacker may be making progress can then be used to simplify or optimize the attack. For example, in a login procedure that requires a username and password, ultimately there is only one decision: success or failure. However, internally, two separate actions are performed: determining if the username exists, and checking if the password is correct. If the product behaves differently based on whether the username exists or not, then the attacker only needs to concentrate on the password.
See Also
Weaknesses in this category are related to sensitive information exposure.
This category identifies Software Fault Patterns (SFPs) within the State Disclosure cluster.
This view (slice) covers all the elements in CWE.
This view (slice) lists weaknesses that can be introduced during implementation.
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