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Improper Authentication

CVE-2011-5053

Medium
5.8/10

Summary

The Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) protocol, when the "external registrar" authentication method is used, does not properly inform clients about failed PIN authentication, which makes it easier for remote attackers to discover the PIN value, and consequently discover the Wi-Fi network password or reconfigure an access point, by reading EAP-NACK messages.

  • MEDIUM
  • NETWORK
  • NONE
  • PARTIAL
  • PARTIAL
  • NONE

CWE-287 - Improper Authentication

Improper (or broken) authentication attacks are widespread, and have accounted for many of the worst data breaches in recent years. Improper authentication attacks are a class of vulnerabilities where an attacker impersonates a legitimate user by exploiting weaknesses in either session management or credential management to gain access to the user’s account. This can result in disclosure of sensitive information, and can lead to system compromise, theft, identity theft, and fraud.

References

Advisory Timeline

  • Published