Vendors and Products

CPE, which stands for Common Platform Enumeration, is a standardized scheme for naming hardware, software, and operating systems. CPE provides a structured naming scheme to uniquely identify and classify information technology systems, platforms, and packages based on certain attributes such as vendor, product name, version, update, edition, and language.

Name: Use of Default Cryptographic Key

The product uses a default cryptographic key for potentially critical functionality.

General Informations

Modes Of Introduction

Architecture and Design : It is common practice for products to be designed to use default keys. The rationale is to simplify the manufacturing process or the system administrator's task of installation and deployment into an enterprise. However, there is a risk that admins might not change the defaults.

Applicable Platforms

Language

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined)

Operating Systems

Class: Not OS-Specific (Undetermined)

Architectures

Class: Not Architecture-Specific (Undetermined)

Technologies

Class: Not Technology-Specific (Undetermined)

Common Consequences

Scope	Impact	Likelihood
Authentication	Gain Privileges or Assume Identity Note: It is easier for attackers to bypass authentication quickly across multiple organizations.

Observed Examples

References	Description
CVE-2018-3825	cloud cluster management product has a default master encryption key
CVE-2016-1561	backup storage product has a default SSH public key in the authorized_keys file, allowing root access
CVE-2010-2306	Intrusion Detection System (IDS) uses the same static, private SSL keys for multiple devices and installations, allowing decryption of SSL traffic

Potential Mitigations

Phases : Requirements
Prohibit use of default, hard-coded, or other values that do not vary for each installation of the product - especially for separate organizations.
Phases : Architecture and Design
Force the administrator to change the credential upon installation.
Phases : Installation // Operation
The product administrator could change the defaults upon installation or during operation.

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Justification : This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Comment : Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Submission

Name	Organization	Date	Date release	Version
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2022-10-07 +00:00	2022-10-13 +00:00	4.9

Modifications

Name	Organization	Date	Comment
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-04-27 +00:00	updated Relationships
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2023-06-29 +00:00	updated Mapping_Notes
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2025-12-11 +00:00	updated Weakness_Ordinalities
CWE Content Team	MITRE	2026-10-28 +00:00	updated Common_Consequences, Description, Modes_of_Introduction

The information presented on CVE Find originates from several carefully selected reference sources. CVE data is provided by MITRE Corporation and the National Vulnerability Database (NVD). The Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog is sourced from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), while EPSS scores come from FIRST.org. Additionally, data regarding software weaknesses (CWE) and common attack patterns (CAPEC) is maintained by MITRE Corporation, and information on hardware and software configurations (CPE) is provided by the NVD.

CWE-1394 Detail

CWE-1394