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.

Modes of Introduction:

– Architecture and Design

Related Weaknesses

CWE-602
CWE-287
CWE-300
CWE-656

Consequences

Access Control: Bypass Protection Mechanism, Gain Privileges or Assume Identity

Potential Mitigations

Phase: Architecture and Design

Description: 

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

CVE References

• CVE-2006-0230
  • Client-side check for a password allows access to a server using crafted XML requests from a modified client.