Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in GUI
Draft Variant
Structure: Simple
Description
The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within the GUI.
An attacker can often obtain data from a GUI, even if hidden, by using an API to directly access GUI objects such as windows and menus. 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.
Common Consequences 1
Scope: Confidentiality
Impact: Read MemoryRead Application Data
Observed Examples 1
CVE-2002-1848Unencrypted passwords stored in GUI dialog may allow local users to access the passwords.
Applicable Platforms
Languages:
Not Language-Specific : Undetermined
Modes of Introduction
Architecture and Design
Related Weaknesses
Taxonomy Mapping
- PLOVER
- Software Fault Patterns
Notes
TerminologyDifferent 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).