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CWE-341

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CWE-341

Predictable from Observable State

Base
Draft

Description

A number or object is predictable based on observations that the attacker can make about the state of the system or network, such as time, process ID, etc.

Common Consequences

Scope

Other

Impact

Varies by Context

Potential Mitigations

Implementation

Increase the entropy used to seed a PRNG.

Architecture and Design
Requirements

Use products or modules that conform to FIPS 140-2 [REF-267] to avoid obvious entropy problems. Consult FIPS 140-2 Annex C ("Approved Random Number Generators").

Implementation

Use a PRNG that periodically re-seeds itself using input from high-quality sources, such as hardware devices with high entropy. However, do not re-seed too frequently, or else the entropy source might block.

CVE-2024-48445

Chain: e-commerce app relies on an easily-guessable timestamp (CWE-341) in a weak authentication algorithm (CWE-1390)

CVE-2002-0389

Mail server stores private mail messages with predictable filenames in a world-executable directory, which allows local users to read private mailing list archives.

CVE-2001-1141

PRNG allows attackers to use the output of small PRNG requests to determine the internal state information, which could be used by attackers to predict future pseudo-random numbers.

CVE-2000-0335

DNS resolver library uses predictable IDs, which allows a local attacker to spoof DNS query results.

CVE-2005-1636

MFV. predictable filename and insecure permissions allows file modification to execute SQL queries.

Applicable Platforms

Not Language-Specific

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