Identity Management / Windows Active Directory Password Policy

Description

Windows Active Directory Password Policy is a vulnerability in the Microsoft Windows operating system that affects the security of its users. This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass the usual password policy set in a Windows environment, such as minimum password length, complexity, and expiration times. This vulnerability is classified as CWE-521, which is defined as “Insufficient Password Policy Enforcement” on the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) directory. This vulnerability is also listed as “Insufficient Authentication and Authorization” on the OWASP Testing Guide.

Risk

This vulnerability poses a serious risk to users, as attackers can easily gain access to users’ accounts by bypassing the usual security measures. It can be used to gain access to systems or accounts, thus leading to data breaches or other malicious activities.

Solution

The best solution to this vulnerability is to ensure that the password policy is enforced on all user accounts. This can be done by setting a minimum length, complexity, and expiration times, as well as by enforcing a lockout policy after failed attempts. It is also important to enforce strong password creation and usage policies on all users.