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CWE-1428:Reliance on HTTP instead of HTTPS
Weakness ID:1428
Version:v4.17
Weakness Name:Reliance on HTTP instead of HTTPS
Vulnerability Mapping:Allowed
Abstraction:Base
Structure:Simple
Status:Incomplete
Likelihood of Exploit:
DetailsContent HistoryObserved CVE ExamplesReports
▼Description

The product provides or relies on use of HTTP communications when HTTPS is available.

▼Extended Description

Because HTTP communications are not encrypted, HTTP is subject to various attacks against confidentiality, integrity, and authenticity. However, unlike many other protocols, HTTPS is widely available as a more secure alternative, because it uses encryption.

▼Alternate Terms
▼Relationships
Relevant to the view"Research Concepts - (1000)"
NatureMappingTypeIDName
ChildOfAllowedB319Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
Nature: ChildOf
Mapping: Allowed
Type: Base
ID: 319
Name: Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information
▼Memberships
NatureMappingTypeIDName
MemberOfProhibitedC1402Comprehensive Categorization: Encryption
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:Category
ID: 1402
Name: Comprehensive Categorization: Encryption
▼Tags
NatureMappingTypeIDName
MemberOfProhibitedBSBOSS-294Not Language-Specific Weaknesses
MemberOfProhibitedBSBOSS-298Not OS-Specific(os class) Weaknesses
MemberOfProhibitedBSBOSS-301Not Architecture-Specific (architecture class) Weaknesses
MemberOfProhibitedBSBOSS-307Not Technology-Specific (technology class) Weaknesses
MemberOfProhibitedBSBOSS-318Modify Application Data (impact)
MemberOfProhibitedBSBOSS-328Read Application Data (impact)
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:BOSSView
ID: BOSS-294
Name: Not Language-Specific Weaknesses
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:BOSSView
ID: BOSS-298
Name: Not OS-Specific(os class) Weaknesses
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:BOSSView
ID: BOSS-301
Name: Not Architecture-Specific (architecture class) Weaknesses
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:BOSSView
ID: BOSS-307
Name: Not Technology-Specific (technology class) Weaknesses
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:BOSSView
ID: BOSS-318
Name: Modify Application Data (impact)
Nature: MemberOf
Mapping: Prohibited
Type:BOSSView
ID: BOSS-328
Name: Read Application Data (impact)
▼Relevant To View
▼Background Detail

▼Common Consequences
ScopeLikelihoodImpactNote
ConfidentialityIntegrityHighRead Application DataModify Application Data

HTTP can be subjected to attacks against confidentiality (by reading cleartext packets); integrity (by modifying sessions); and authenticity (by compromising servers and/or clients using cache poisoning, phishing, or other attacks that enable attackers to spoof a legitimate entity in the communication channel).

Scope: Confidentiality, Integrity
Likelihood: High
Impact: Read Application Data, Modify Application Data
Note:

HTTP can be subjected to attacks against confidentiality (by reading cleartext packets); integrity (by modifying sessions); and authenticity (by compromising servers and/or clients using cache poisoning, phishing, or other attacks that enable attackers to spoof a legitimate entity in the communication channel).

▼Potential Mitigations
Phase:Architecture and Design
Mitigation ID:
Strategy:
Effectiveness:
Description:

Explicitly require HTTPS or another mechanism that ensures that communication is encrypted [REF-1464].

Note:


Phase:Implementation
Mitigation ID:
Strategy:
Effectiveness:
Description:

Avoid using "mixed content," i.e., serving a web page over HTTPS in which the page includes elements that use "http:" URLs [REF-1466] [REF-1467]. This is often done for images or other resources that do not seem to have privacy or security implications.

Note:


Phase:Implementation, Operation
Mitigation ID:
Strategy:
Effectiveness:
Description:

Perform "HTTPS forcing," that is, redirecting HTTP requests to HTTPS.

Note:


Phase:Operation
Mitigation ID:
Strategy:
Effectiveness:
Description:

If the product supports multiple protocols, ensure that encrypted protocols (such as HTTPS) are required, and remove any unencrypted protocols (such as HTTP).

Note:

▼Modes Of Introduction
Phase: Architecture and Design
Note:

The product might be designed in a way that assumes that HTTP will be used, e.g., by excluding considerations of encrypted communications between client and server.

Phase: Requirements
Note:

Product requirements might not include encrypted communications, which could make it easier for designers and developers to choose HTTP.

Phase: Implementation
Note:

Developers might choose to use unencrypted protocols such as HTTP because they would not require development of additional mechanisms to support encryption, e.g., key or certificate management.

Phase: Implementation
Note:

When generating content that references web sites such as email messages, ensure that the https:// prefix is included. If a domain name is presented without such a prefix, then clients might automatically treat the link as if it had an "http" prefix. For example, referencing a domain like "mysite.example.com" could cause it to be treated like "http://mysite.example.com", thereby sending unencrypted HTTP requests.

Phase: Operation
Note:

Designers might assume that the responsibility for encrypted communications might belong to operators and/or network administrators.

▼Applicable Platforms
Languages
Class: Not Language-Specific(Undetermined Prevalence)
Technology
Class: Not Technology-Specific(Undetermined Prevalence)
Operating System
Class: Not OS-Specific(Undetermined Prevalence)
Architecture
Class: Not Architecture-Specific(Undetermined Prevalence)
▼Demonstrative Examples
▼Observed Examples
ReferenceDescription
▼Affected Resources
    ▼Functional Areas
      ▼Weakness Ordinalities
      OrdinalityDescription
      ▼Detection Methods
      ▼Vulnerability Mapping Notes
      Usage:Allowed
      Reason:Acceptable-Use
      Rationale:

      This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.

      Comments:

      Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

      Suggestions:
      ▼Notes
      ▼Taxonomy Mappings
      Taxonomy NameEntry IDFitEntry Name
      ▼Related Attack Patterns
      IDName
      ▼References
      Reference ID: REF-1461
      Title: What's the Difference Between HTTP and HTTPS?
      Author: Amazon
      Section:
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://aws.amazon.com/compare/the-difference-between-https-and-http/
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:N/A
      Month:N/A
      Year:N/A
      Reference ID: REF-1462
      Title: Why is HTTP not secure? | HTTP vs. HTTPS
      Author: Cloudflare
      Section:
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/ssl/why-is-http-not-secure/
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:N/A
      Month:N/A
      Year:N/A
      Reference ID: REF-1463
      Title: Every Pipe, Every Byte: The Case for Universal Encryption
      Author: Bob Lord
      Section:
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://medium.com/@boblord/every-pipe-every-byte-the-case-for-universal-encryption-b8e08939d2b9
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:12
      Month:12
      Year:2024
      Reference ID: REF-1464
      Title: Encrypting the Web
      Author: Electronic Frontier Foundation
      Section:
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://www.eff.org/encrypt-the-web/
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:N/A
      Month:N/A
      Year:N/A
      Reference ID: REF-1465
      Title: Application Security Verification Standard 4.0.3 - Final
      Author: OWASP
      Section: V1.9 Communications Architecture
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://github.com/OWASP/ASVS/blob/v4.0.3/4.0/OWASP%20Application%20Security%20Verification%20Standard%204.0.3-en.pdf
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:N/A
      Month:N/A
      Year:N/A
      Reference ID: REF-1465
      Title: Application Security Verification Standard 4.0.3 - Final
      Author: OWASP
      Section: V9.1 Client Communication Security
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://github.com/OWASP/ASVS/blob/v4.0.3/4.0/OWASP%20Application%20Security%20Verification%20Standard%204.0.3-en.pdf
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:N/A
      Month:N/A
      Year:N/A
      Reference ID: REF-1465
      Title: Application Security Verification Standard 4.0.3 - Final
      Author: OWASP
      Section: V9.2 Server Communication Security
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://github.com/OWASP/ASVS/blob/v4.0.3/4.0/OWASP%20Application%20Security%20Verification%20Standard%204.0.3-en.pdf
      URL Date:2025-03-29
      Day:N/A
      Month:N/A
      Year:N/A
      Reference ID: REF-1466
      Title: Fixing mixed content
      Author:
      Section:
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://web.dev/articles/fixing-mixed-content
      URL Date:2025-04-01
      Day:07
      Month:09
      Year:2019
      Reference ID: REF-1467
      Title: Mixed content
      Author: Mozilla
      Section:
      Publication:
      Publisher:
      Edition:
      URL:https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Web/Security/Mixed_content
      URL Date:2025-04-01
      Day:13
      Month:03
      Year:2025
      Details not found