CWE-614

Variant 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
Sensitive Cookie in HTTPS Session Without 'Secure' Attribute

Description

The Secure attribute for sensitive cookies in HTTPS sessions is not set.

Consequences

Confidentiality — Read Application Data

Omitting the secure flag makes it possible for the user agent to send the cookies in plaintext over an HTTP session.

Mitigations

Phase: Implementation

Always set the secure attribute when the cookie should be sent via HTTPS only.

Detection

Automated Static Analysis

Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)