CWE-655: Insufficient Psychological Acceptability
The product has a protection mechanism that is too difficult or inconvenient to use, encouraging non-malicious users to disable or bypass the mechanism, whether by accident or on purpose.
How it's found
Insufficient Psychological Acceptability describes a general pattern rather than a single fixed bug. Testers use a mix of static analysis and manual code review to find where a target's code matches this pattern, then confirm exploitability by hand.
Consequences
- Bypass Protection Mechanism: By bypassing the security mechanism, a user might leave the system in a less secure state than intended by the administrator, making it more susceptible to compromise.
Mitigations
- Testing: Where possible, perform human factors and usability studies to identify where your product's security mechanisms are difficult to use, and why.
- Architecture and Design: Make the security mechanism as seamless as possible, while also providing the user with sufficient details when a security decision produces unexpected results.
Where this fits in a TurboPentest engagement
This weakness is not covered by the automated black-box pentest. IntegSec pentesters cover it in a manual engagement.
Frequently asked questions
What is CWE-655?
The product has a protection mechanism that is too difficult or inconvenient to use, encouraging non-malicious users to disable or bypass the mechanism, whether by accident or on purpose.
How do you find Insufficient Psychological Acceptability?
Insufficient Psychological Acceptability describes a general pattern rather than a single fixed bug. Testers use a mix of static analysis and manual code review to find where a target's code matches this pattern, then confirm exploitability by hand.
What is the impact of CWE-655?
Bypass Protection Mechanism: By bypassing the security mechanism, a user might leave the system in a less secure state than intended by the administrator, making it more susceptible to compromise.
Does TurboPentest test for Insufficient Psychological Acceptability?
This weakness is not covered by the automated black-box pentest. IntegSec pentesters cover it in a manual engagement.
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Written and reviewed by
Michel Chamberland - Founder & CEO, IntegSec
CISSP, OSCP, OSCE, CEH, GIAC, CCSK · 20+ years in offensive security
Michel has spent 20+ years on offensive security teams including IBM X-Force Red and Trustwave SpiderLabs, leading penetration tests, red team engagements, and breach response for Fortune 500 customers. He is the founder of IntegSec and the architect of TurboPentest.
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