CWE-603

Use of Client-Side Authentication

Weakness Description

A client/server product performs authentication within client code but not in server code, allowing server-side authentication to be bypassed via a modified client that omits the authentication check.

Client-side authentication is extremely weak and may be breached easily. Any attacker may read the source code and reverse-engineer the authentication mechanism to access parts of the application which would otherwise be protected.

Potential Mitigations

Architecture and Design

Do not rely on client side data. Always perform server side authentication.

Common Consequences

Access Control
Bypass Protection MechanismGain Privileges or Assume Identity
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