Authentication Failures remain firmly in the OWASP’s 2025 Top 10, holding the seventh position. This category includes flaws that allow attackers to bypass authentication processes, exploit weak credentials, or hijack session management. In the federal landscape, effective authentication is foundational for safeguarding sensitive resources, supporting Zero Trust objectives, and meeting key compliance benchmarks.
What are Authentication Failures?
Authentication failures occur when applications allow unauthorized access due to weak, misconfigured, or poorly managed login flows and credential handling. Problems range from hard-coded passwords and weak password policies to ineffective multi-factor authentication and session handling. Attackers exploit these flaws to impersonate users, perform credential stuffing, or hijack system sessions.
Common Examples
- Use of default, weak, or reused passwords for administrative accounts
- Absence or ineffective implementation of multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Poor credential recovery processes such as unsafe “security questions”
- Session fixation, where a session remains valid after logout or inactivity
- Exposure of session identifiers in URLs or client-accessible fields
- Hard-coded credentials or critical secrets embedded in codebases
Federal Impact and Compliance Focus
Authentication weaknesses are a frequent target in federal breaches, leading to unauthorized access, data exfiltration, and operational compromise. Agencies must comply with NIST SP 800-63, CISA, and FedRAMP requirements that stress strong authentication workflows, MFA, and secure credential management. Persistent incidents highlight the need for vigilance, especially as government systems integrate more federated and cloud-based identity services.
Key Technical Weaknesses
CWE Reference | Example Flaws |
CWE-259 | Use of Hard-coded Password |
CWE-297 | Improper Validation of Certificate with Host Mismatch |
CWE-287 | Improper Authentication |
CWE-384 | Session Fixation |
CWE-798 | Use of Hard-coded Credentials |
CWE-521 | Weak Password Requirements |
CWE-640 | Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password |
Visual: Authentication Failure and Exploit Patterns
Vulnerability Type | Attack Vector | Impact |
Weak password policy | Credential brute force, stuffing | Unauthorized access, privilege theft |
Poor session control | Invalidated sessions, URL token exposure | Session hijacking, persistent access |
Lack of MFA | Single-factor authentication, phishing | Easy impersonation, increased risk |
Hard-coded secrets | Source code review, insider attack | Complete system compromise |
Practical Steps for Federal Environments
- Enforce Strong Credential Policies: Reject default, weak, and reused passwords. Require long, complex passphrases and avoid forcing unnecessary password rotations except following a breach.
- Implement Multi-factor Authentication: Apply MFA on all critical systems and interfaces, using time-based tokens or hardware authenticators rather than SMS or simple channels.
- Secure Session Management: Ensure sessions are invalidated at logout or after inactivity. Remove session identifiers from URLs or client-accessible storage.
- Strengthen Credential Recovery and Registration: Create enrollment and recovery workflows resistant to enumeration and impersonation attacks, using uniform error messaging and verification processes.
- Periodic Credential Audits: Review credential stores for hard-coded secrets, excessive permissions, and outdated authentication logic. Automate detection through RavenTek’s partner tool integrations.
- Educate Users and Admins: Train users and administrators to recognize phishing, account takeover attempts, and report unusual behaviors promptly.
- Monitor for Automated Attacks: Deploy tools to detect credential stuffing and brute force attempts, alerting security teams for response.
How RavenTek and Partners Help
RavenTek works with leading authentication, identity, and session control providers. Our solutions help federal agencies enforce strong credential policies, integrate robust MFA, and automate the discovery and remediation of authentication-related vulnerabilities across all environments.
Prioritize Strong Authentication to Safeguard Mission-Critical Data
Discover solutions that strengthen access controls and help meet evolving federal compliance standards.
