CWE-636: Not Failing Securely ('Failing Open')

MITRE CWE weakness

Description

When the product encounters an error condition or failure, its design requires it to fall back to a state that is less secure than other options that are available, such as selecting the weakest encryption algorithm or using the most permissive access control restrictions.

By entering a less secure state, the product inherits the weaknesses associated with that state, making it easier to compromise. At the least, it causes administrators to have a false sense of security. This weakness typically occurs as a result of wanting to "fail functional" to minimize administration and support costs, instead of "failing safe."

Common consequences

• Access Control: Bypass Protection Mechanism

Mitigations

Architecture and Design — Subdivide and allocate resources and components so that a failure in one part does not affect the entire product.

References

• CWE page: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/636.html
• CWE list: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/index.html