In this article, we’ll be discussing why we should avoid using a hardcoded password in our source code. Apart from that, we’ll teach you how to prevent it
Some security practitioners refer to hardcoded passwords as embedded credentials.
From a technical standpoint, hardcoded passwords are the plain text developers usually embedded in the source code. You might find hardcoded passwords in IoT devices that you use regularly.
Developers often forget the consequences of hardcoded passwords. Despite the fact, they pose a serious cybersecurity threat. Furthermore, the use of hardcoded passwords in the source code makes it susceptible to malicious activities.
Thus, if you are using hardcoded passwords in your source code an intruder can gain access to your application. Consequently, your entire IT infrastructure will collapse.
Using hard-coded passwords in the source code had consequences. Most importantly, the failure of authentication measures under a few circumstances.
In many systems, we assign a simple default password to a default administration account that is then hardcoded into the program. As a result, this hard-coded password remains the same for all the devices or systems of this type and cannot be altered by end-users.
To keep that in perspective, suppose an intruder identifies such a type of device. Eventually, he can easily retrieve a default password publicly available on the internet and then use that credential to gain unauthorized access.
Examples
In C/C++
int verifyIdentity(char *userName){
if (strcmp(username,"Admin")){
printf("Incorrect User Name!n");
return 0;
}
printf("Start of diagnosis moden");
return 1;
}In Java
int verifyIdentity(string userName){
if(userName.equals("Admin")){
return 0;
}
return 1;
}How HardCoded Passwords are Used and Where are They Found?
In your daily life, you might have come across Hardcoded passwords in many ways, including:
- Configuring and establishing a new system
- API and system integration
- Creating encryption or decryption keys
- For defining privileged access
- For streamlining application-to-application or application-to-database communication,
Hardcoded passwords can be found in:
- software applications, both on-premise or cloud-hosted.
- BIOS and other firmware in computers, mobile devices, printers, and servers.
- DevOps tools
- Networks include routers, switches, and a myriad of other control systems.
- IoT-enabled mobile devices and the internet.
Apart from that, most software developers hardcode passwords into the firmware, software, applications, or scripts. In other words, they aren’t quite familiar with software development security.
After that, these software products are shipped and often deployed while the default hardcoded password remains intact. Most importantly, no one in an enterprise understands the gravity of this issue until the entire IT infrastructure of the company is compromised.
Software developers remain oblivious to this issue, and they unknowingly embed secret credentials into the code to streamline workflow.
Some naïve users often claim that hardcoding secret credentials prevent unsophisticated users from tampering with the code. Therefore, as a team lead or a product manager, it is your job to stop the hardcoding of passwords as it poses a formidable security threat that often leads to mayhem.
Best Practices for Preventing Hardcoded Passwords
If you want to want your application less vulnerable to being comprised due to a hardcoded password, there are some strategies. Here is a list of steps you can take:
Bring Application Password Under Management
Firstly, introduce a third-party privileged password management solution that discovers hardcoded credentials across an enterprise. Eventually, it forces applications or scripts to use a password from a centralized password safely.
Once all the credentials are under management, certain tools can ensure best practices for password security. Above all, password rotation and password length for offsetting the potential threat of cyberattack.
Never Buy from Suppliers Who Use Hardcoded Passwords
Avoid buying software solutions from vendors using hardcoded credentials is the best solution for preventing hardcoded passwords. In this way, you can ensure the security of your entire IT infrastructure.
Management of Faultline
Generally, software vendors release patches to address flaws that come with hardcoded passwords. Thus, If you have successfully deployed the vulnerability scanning and patch management process, you can easily address all those issues before the company issue patch for that particular issue.
Hardcoded Passwords are at the Highest Risk
Since it is insanely easy to extrapolate the source code of an application, hardcoded passwords are always at the highest risk. The fact holds for an application that is open source.
Another viable option for preventing hardcoded passwords in the source code is storing all the necessary credentials in a configuration file or a database.
Best Coding Practice
- Separate all the essential credentials in a separate configuration file and never push that to the code repository.
- Store credentials in a separate database.
- Coordinate with your cloud services providers for instance AWS or Microsoft Azure to manage secrets.
- If you find that a perpetrator can extract your password from the source code, change it immediately.
Code Solution
Non-Compliant Code
username = "Alice"
password = "123456"
userNamepassword = "user=Alice&password=123456"Compliant Code
import os
username = os.getenv("userName")
password = os.getenv("password")
userNamepassword = "user=%s&password=%s" % (username, password)Best Alternatives to Hardcoded Passwords
There isn’t a one-step solution to this problem, and you should resolve it on a case-to-case basis. Below are some of the proven strategies.
- Users Should Know the Password
In an ideal case, users are supposed to know the password rather than the program. Unfortunately, a vast majority of web applications connecting to a database do not follow this practice.
2. Use a password manager or KMS “Key management server” File
It is relatively easier to eavesdrop on a separate config file that contains a password rather than tracking passwords stored in multiple locations. Therefore, we highly recommend all web developers avoid making their password files downloadable and use passwords managers.
3. Encrypt
If your program is aware of the secret that could be a decryption key, you can decrypt other secret information. Libraries with encryption algorithms are available for all programming languages.
4. Keep Secret Record in a Database
Creating a separate database is the best method for safely storing secret passwords and other credentials. Furthermore, this approach is not appropriate for storing passwords that allow access to the database. As a result, it will strengthen security.
5. Encrypt Users’ Password
If your program stores your users’ passwords, store them in an encrypted format instead of plain text. Eventually, it will enhance the security of your system.
