776
It could be argued that such problems are usually only exploitable by those with administrator
privileges. However, swapping could cause the memory to be written to disk and leave it accessible
to physical attack afterwards. Core dump files might have insecure permissions or be stored in
archive files that are accessible to untrusted people. Or, uncleared sensitive memory might be
inadvertently exposed to attackers due to another weakness.
Relationships
The table(s) below shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this
weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOr and give insight to
similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such
as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that may want to be explored.
Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (CWE-1000)
Nature Type ID Name Page
ChildOf 312 Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information 764
Relevant to the view "Architectural Concepts" (CWE-1008)
Nature Type ID Name Page
MemberOf 1013 Encrypt Data 2428
Applicable Platforms
Language : Not Language-Specific (Prevalence = Undetermined)
Common Consequences
Scope Impact Likelihood
Confidentiality Read Memory
Observed Examples
Reference Description
CVE-2001-1517 Sensitive authentication information in cleartext in memory.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2001-1517
CVE-2001-0984 Password protector leaves passwords in memory when window is minimized,
even when "clear password when minimized" is set.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2001-0984
CVE-2003-0291 SSH client does not clear credentials from memory.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0291
Affected Resources
• Memory
MemberOf Relationships
This MemberOf relationships table shows additional CWE Catgeories and Views that reference this
weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits
within the context of external information sources.
Nature Type ID Name Page
MemberOf 963 SFP Secondary Cluster: Exposed Data 888 2400
MemberOf 1348 OWASP Top Ten 2021 Category A04:2021 - Insecure
Design
1344 2491
MemberOf 1402 Comprehensive Categorization: Encryption 1400 2527
Notes
Relationship
This could be a resultant weakness, e.g. if the compiler removes code that was intended to wipe
memory.
CWE Version 4.14
CWE-317: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in GUI
CWE-317: Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information in GUI