CWE-187

Partial String Comparison

Weakness Description

The product performs a comparison that only examines a portion of a factor before determining whether there is a match, such as a substring, leading to resultant weaknesses.

For example, an attacker might succeed in authentication by providing a small password that matches the associated portion of the larger, correct password.

Potential Mitigations

Testing

Thoroughly test the comparison scheme before deploying code into production. Perform positive testing as well as negative testing.

Common Consequences

IntegrityAccess Control
Alter Execution LogicBypass Protection Mechanism
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Related Weaknesses