Password aging (or password rotation) is a policy that forces users to change their passwords after a defined time period passes, such as every 30 or 90 days. A long expiration provides more time for attackers to conduct password cracking before users are forced to change to a new password.
Note that while password aging was once considered an important security feature, it has since fallen out of favor by many, because it is not as effective against modern threats compared to other mechanisms such as slow hashes. In addition, forcing frequent changes can unintentionally encourage users to select less-secure passwords. However, password aging is still in use due to factors such as compliance requirements, e.g., Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS).
| Impact | Details |
|---|---|
|
Gain Privileges or Assume Identity |
Scope: Access Control
As passwords age, the probability that they are compromised grows.
|
| Phase(s) | Mitigation |
|---|---|
|
Implementation |
Previously, "password expiration" was
widely advocated as a defense-in-depth approach to
minimize the risk of weak passwords, and it has become
a common practice. Password expiration requires a
password to be changed within a fixed time window (such
as every 90 days). However, this approach has
significant limitations in the current threat
landscape, and its utility has been reduced in light of
the adoption of related protection mechanisms (such as
password complexity and computational effort), along
with the recognition that regular password changes
often caused users to generate more predictable
passwords. As a result, this is now a Discouraged
Common Practice [REF-1488] [REF-1489], especially as
the sole factor in protecting passwords. It is still
strongly encouraged to force password changes in case
of evidence of compromise, but this is not the same as
a forced "expiration" on an arbitrary time
frame.
|
|
Architecture and Design |
Ensure that password aging is limited so that there is a defined maximum age for passwords. Note that if the expiration window is too short, it can cause users to generate poor or predictable passwords.
|
|
Architecture and Design |
Ensure that the user is notified several times leading up to the password expiration.
|
|
Architecture and Design |
Create mechanisms to prevent users from reusing passwords or creating similar passwords.
|
|
Implementation |
Developers might disable clipboard paste operations into password fields as a way to discourage users from pasting a password into a clipboard. However, this might encourage users to choose less-secure passwords that are easier to type, and it can reduce the usability of password managers [REF-1294].
Effectiveness: Discouraged Common Practice |
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChildOf | Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. | 1390 | Weak Authentication |
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Category Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 255 | Credentials Management Errors |
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Category Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1010 | Authenticate Actors |
| Phase | Note |
|---|---|
| Architecture and Design | COMMISSION: This weakness refers to an incorrect design related to an architectural security tactic. |
Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)
Example 1
A system requires the changing of passwords every five years.
| Nature | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | ViewView - a subset of CWE entries that provides a way of examining CWE content. The two main view structures are Slices (flat lists) and Graphs (containing relationships between entries). | 884 | CWE Cross-section |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 951 | SFP Secondary Cluster: Insecure Authentication Policy |
| MemberOf | CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. | 1396 | Comprehensive Categorization: Access Control |
Rationale
This CWE entry is closely related to the absence of a practice (password expiration) that is no longer widely supported as an effective protection mechanism. In addition, it might be deprecated in the future.Comments
Consider CWEs related to the reliance on passwords or single-factor authentication, or other CWEs involving weak passwords.Maintenance
| Mapped Taxonomy Name | Node ID | Fit | Mapped Node Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| CLASP | Allowing password aging |
| CAPEC-ID | Attack Pattern Name |
|---|---|
| CAPEC-16 | Dictionary-based Password Attack |
| CAPEC-49 | Password Brute Forcing |
| CAPEC-509 | Kerberoasting |
| CAPEC-55 | Rainbow Table Password Cracking |
| CAPEC-555 | Remote Services with Stolen Credentials |
| CAPEC-560 | Use of Known Domain Credentials |
| CAPEC-561 | Windows Admin Shares with Stolen Credentials |
| CAPEC-565 | Password Spraying |
| CAPEC-600 | Credential Stuffing |
| CAPEC-652 | Use of Known Kerberos Credentials |
| CAPEC-653 | Use of Known Operating System Credentials |
| CAPEC-70 | Try Common or Default Usernames and Passwords |
| Submissions | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Submission Date | Submitter | Organization | |
|
2006年07月19日
(CWE Draft 3, 2006年07月19日) |
CLASP | ||
| Contributions | |||
| Contribution Date | Contributor | Organization | |
| 2021年12月03日 | Kurt Seifried, Chris Eng, G. Ann Campbell, Larry Shields, Jeffrey Walton, Jason Dryhurst-Smith, and other members of the CWE Community | ||
| Gave feedback on how to update CWE-262 and CWE-263 due to changing password management practices | |||
|
2025年03月17日
(CWE 4.18, 2025年09月09日) |
Camille Gouttebroze | CAST Software | |
| suggested removal of password expiration as an acceptable mitigation in CWE-521 and provided references | |||
| Modifications | |||
| Modification Date | Modifier | Organization | |
|
2025年09月09日
(CWE 4.18, 2025年09月09日) |
CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Maintenance_Notes, Mapping_Notes, Potential_Mitigations, References | |||
| 2023年06月29日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Mapping_Notes | |||
| 2023年04月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated References, Relationships | |||
| 2022年10月13日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Description, Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships | |||
| 2020年08月20日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Related_Attack_Patterns | |||
| 2020年02月24日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Demonstrative_Examples, References | |||
| 2017年11月08日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Applicable_Platforms, Likelihood_of_Exploit, Modes_of_Introduction, Relationships | |||
| 2014年07月30日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Relationships | |||
| 2012年05月11日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated References, Relationships | |||
| 2011年06月27日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Common_Consequences | |||
| 2011年06月01日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Common_Consequences | |||
| 2011年03月29日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Description, Other_Notes, Relationships | |||
| 2008年09月08日 | CWE Content Team | MITRE | |
| updated Common_Consequences, Relationships, Other_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings | |||
| Previous Entry Names | |||
| Change Date | Previous Entry Name | ||
| 2008年04月11日 | Allowing Unchecked Password Aging | ||
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