Identity Management / Password Returned in Later Response

Description

Password returned in later response is a type of authentication vulnerability when the server returns a valid password in later response, usually in the form of a cookie, session ID, or other form of authentication token. This type of vulnerability is classified as CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) in the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) directory. The OWASP Testing Guide provides a detailed description of the vulnerability and how to test for it.

Risk

This vulnerability can lead to serious security risks as it can enable unauthorized access to user accounts, allowing attackers to access sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and other confidential data. In addition, attackers can use the vulnerability to bypass authentication and access resources that they should not have access to.

Solution

The best way to prevent this vulnerability is to ensure that no valid password is returned in later responses, and to never store passwords in cookies or other authentication tokens. Additionally, it is important to properly sanitize user input before passing it to the server, and to use strong encryption to protect cookies and other authentication tokens.