CWE-287 Improper Authentication

Description

Improper Authentication

Reference: https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/287.html

OWASP Category: A07:2021 – Identification and Authentication Failures

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Vulnerable Pattern

❌ Example 1: Vulnerable Pattern

// VULNERABLE: No authentication check
@GetMapping("/admin/users")
public List<User> getUsers() {
    return userRepository.findAll();
}

Why it's vulnerable: This pattern is vulnerable to Improper Authentication

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Deterministic Fix

✅ Secure Implementation: Secure Implementation

// SECURE: Require authentication
@GetMapping("/admin/users")
@PreAuthorize("hasRole('ADMIN')")
public List<User> getUsers(Authentication auth) {
    if (auth == null || !auth.isAuthenticated()) {
        throw new AccessDeniedException("Not authenticated");
    }
    return userRepository.findAll();
}

Why it's secure: Implements proper protection against Improper Authentication

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Detection Pattern

Look for these patterns in your codebase:

# Find controllers without security annotations
grep -rn "@GetMapping\\|@PostMapping" --include="*.java" -A5 | grep -v "@PreAuthorize\\|@Secured"

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Remediation Steps

1. Add authentication checks to all protected endpoints

2. Use Spring Security @PreAuthorize or @Secured annotations

3. Verify authentication status before processing requests

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Key Imports

import org.springframework.security.access.prepost.PreAuthorize;

import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;

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Verification

After remediation:

• Run SAST scanner to confirm vulnerability is resolved

• Review all instances of the vulnerable pattern

• Add unit tests that verify the secure implementation

• Check for similar patterns in related code

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Trigger Examples

Fix CWE-287 vulnerability
Resolve Improper Authentication issue
Secure this Java code against improper authentication
SAST reports CWE-287

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Common Vulnerable Locations

Layer	Files	Patterns

| Controller | *Controller.java | User input handling |

| Service | *Service.java | Business logic |

| Repository | *Repository.java | Data access |

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References

• CWE-287: Improper Authentication

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Source: Generated by Java CWE Security Skills Generator Last Updated: 2026-03-07