CWE-420

Base Abstraction Level
Pillar — Highest-level weakness category
Class — Abstract, language-independent
Base — Specific enough to detect
Variant — Tied to specific technology
Compound — Requires multiple weaknesses Draft MITRE CWE Status
Stable — Fully reviewed and complete
Draft — Under development, may change
Incomplete — Partially defined by MITRE
Deprecated — No longer recommended
Obsolete — Replaced by another CWE
Unprotected Alternate Channel

Description

The product protects a primary channel, but it does not use the same level of protection for an alternate channel.

Top Monitored CVEs

CVE-2023-20198
CRITICAL KEV
10.0 99.6%
2023-10-16
CVE-2025-54309
CRITICAL KEV
9.8 92.0%
2025-07-18
CVE-2024-10081
CRITICAL
10.0 40.1%
2024-11-06

Consequences

Access Control — Gain Privileges or Assume Identity, Bypass Protection Mechanism

Mitigations

Phase: Architecture and Design

Identify all alternate channels and use the same protection mechanisms that are used for the primary channels.