CWE-522
Allowed-with-ReviewInsufficiently Protected Credentials
Abstraction: Class · Status: Incomplete
The product transmits or stores authentication credentials, but it uses an insecure method that is susceptible to unauthorized interception and/or retrieval.
1820 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.
GHSA-54H8-8VV6-353M
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:47 – Updated: 2025-04-20 03:36kedpm 0.5 and 1.0 creates a history file in ~/.kedpm/history that is written in cleartext. All of the commands performed in the password manager are written there. This can lead to the disclosure of the master password if the "password" command is used with an argument. The names of the password entries created and consulted are also accessible in cleartext.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2017-8296"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2017-04-27T15:59:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "kedpm 0.5 and 1.0 creates a history file in ~/.kedpm/history that is written in cleartext. All of the commands performed in the password manager are written there. This can lead to the disclosure of the master password if the \"password\" command is used with an argument. The names of the password entries created and consulted are also accessible in cleartext.",
"id": "GHSA-54h8-8vv6-353m",
"modified": "2025-04-20T03:36:56Z",
"published": "2022-05-13T01:47:26Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-8296"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=860817"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://security.gentoo.org/glsa/201708-04"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://sourceforge.net/p/kedpm/bugs/6"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2017/04/26/9"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-54M9-H7QP-FWVG
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:08 – Updated: 2023-01-05 21:46Jenkins Applatix Plugin 1.1 and earlier stores a password unencrypted in job config.xml files on the Jenkins master where it can be viewed by users with Extended Read permission, or access to the master file system.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Maven",
"name": "com.applatix.jenkins:applatix"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"last_affected": "1.1"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2020-2133"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-256",
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2023-01-05T21:46:58Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2020-02-12T15:15:00Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Jenkins Applatix Plugin 1.1 and earlier stores a password unencrypted in job config.xml files on the Jenkins master where it can be viewed by users with Extended Read permission, or access to the master file system.",
"id": "GHSA-54m9-h7qp-fwvg",
"modified": "2023-01-05T21:46:58Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T17:08:48Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-2133"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/jenkinsci/applatix-plugin"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2020-02-12/#SECURITY-1540"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2020/02/12/3"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Password stored in plain text by Applatix Plugin"
}
GHSA-558P-M34M-VPMQ
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2023-04-27 14:02 – Updated: 2023-05-05 21:40Impact
Users of typed-rest-client library version 1.7.3 or lower are vulnerable to leak authentication data to 3rd parties.
The flow of the vulnerability is as follows:
- Send any request with
BasicCredentialHandler,BearerCredentialHandlerorPersonalAccessTokenCredentialHandler - The target host may return a redirection (3xx), with a link to a second host.
- The next request will use the credentials to authenticate with the second host, by setting the
Authorizationheader.
The expected behavior is that the next request will NOT set the Authorization header.
Patches
The problem was fixed on April 1st 2020.
Workarounds
There is no workaround.
References
This is similar to the following issues in nature: 1. HTTP authentication leak in redirects - I used the same solution as CURL did. 2. CVE-2018-1000007.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "npm",
"name": "typed-rest-client"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"fixed": "1.8.0"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2023-30846"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2023-04-27T14:02:11Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2023-04-26T21:15:09Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "### Impact\nUsers of typed-rest-client library version 1.7.3 or lower are vulnerable to leak authentication data to 3rd parties. \n\nThe flow of the vulnerability is as follows:\n\n1. Send any request with `BasicCredentialHandler`, `BearerCredentialHandler` or `PersonalAccessTokenCredentialHandler` \n2. The target host may return a redirection (3xx), with a link to a second host.\n3. The next request will use the credentials to authenticate with the second host, by setting the `Authorization` header.\n\nThe expected behavior is that the next request will *NOT* set the `Authorization` header.\n\n\n### Patches\nThe problem was fixed on April 1st 2020.\n\n\n### Workarounds\nThere is no workaround.\n\n### References\nThis is similar to the following issues in nature:\n1. [HTTP authentication leak in redirects](https://curl.haxx.se/docs/CVE-2018-1000007.html) - I used the same solution as CURL did.\n2. [CVE-2018-1000007](https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-1000007).",
"id": "GHSA-558p-m34m-vpmq",
"modified": "2023-05-05T21:40:11Z",
"published": "2023-04-27T14:02:11Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/microsoft/typed-rest-client/security/advisories/GHSA-558p-m34m-vpmq"
},
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-30846"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/microsoft/typed-rest-client/pull/207"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/microsoft/typed-rest-client/commit/f9ff755631b982ee1303dfc3e3c823d0d31233e8"
},
{
"type": "PACKAGE",
"url": "https://github.com/microsoft/typed-rest-client"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://security.netapp.com/advisory/ntap-20230601-0008"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Potential leak of authentication data to 3rd parties"
}
GHSA-55F8-M8W5-FMQ8
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:15 – Updated: 2023-10-26 15:30Jenkins Minio Storage Plugin stores credentials unencrypted in its global configuration file org.jenkinsci.plugins.minio.MinioUploader.xml on the Jenkins controller. These credentials can be viewed by users with access to the Jenkins controller file system.
{
"affected": [
{
"package": {
"ecosystem": "Maven",
"name": "org.jenkins-ci.plugins:minio-storage"
},
"ranges": [
{
"events": [
{
"introduced": "0"
},
{
"last_affected": "0.0.3"
}
],
"type": "ECOSYSTEM"
}
]
}
],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2019-10285"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": true,
"github_reviewed_at": "2023-10-26T15:30:31Z",
"nvd_published_at": "2019-04-04T16:29:00Z",
"severity": "LOW"
},
"details": "Jenkins Minio Storage Plugin stores credentials unencrypted in its global configuration file `org.jenkinsci.plugins.minio.MinioUploader.xml` on the Jenkins controller. These credentials can be viewed by users with access to the Jenkins controller file system.",
"id": "GHSA-55f8-m8w5-fmq8",
"modified": "2023-10-26T15:30:31Z",
"published": "2022-05-13T01:15:04Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2019-10285"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://jenkins.io/security/advisory/2019-04-03/#SECURITY-955"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.openwall.com/lists/oss-security/2019/04/12/2"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:L/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
],
"summary": "Jenkins Minio Storage Plugin stores credentials in plain text"
}
GHSA-55H6-P6M7-F4H7
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:04 – Updated: 2022-05-13 01:04An Insufficiently Protected Credentials issue was discovered in Schneider Electric Modicon PLCs Modicon M241, all firmware versions, and Modicon M251, all firmware versions. Log-in credentials are sent over the network with Base64 encoding leaving them susceptible to sniffing. Sniffed credentials could then be used to log into the web application.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2017-6028"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2017-06-30T03:29:00Z",
"severity": "CRITICAL"
},
"details": "An Insufficiently Protected Credentials issue was discovered in Schneider Electric Modicon PLCs Modicon M241, all firmware versions, and Modicon M251, all firmware versions. Log-in credentials are sent over the network with Base64 encoding leaving them susceptible to sniffing. Sniffed credentials could then be used to log into the web application.",
"id": "GHSA-55h6-p6m7-f4h7",
"modified": "2022-05-13T01:04:04Z",
"published": "2022-05-13T01:04:04Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2017-6028"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/advisories/ICSA-17-089-02"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://www.securityfocus.com/bid/97254"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-55QQ-WP4M-G5QV
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-08-24 00:00 – Updated: 2022-08-26 00:03Fiserv Prologue through 2020-12-16 does not properly protect the database password. If an attacker were to gain access to the configuration file (specifically, the LogPassword attribute within appconfig.ini), they would be able to decrypt the password stored within the configuration file. This would yield cleartext credentials for the database (to gain access to financial records of customers stored within the database), and in some cases would allow remote login to the database.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2020-35992"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2022-08-23T02:15:00Z",
"severity": "MODERATE"
},
"details": "Fiserv Prologue through 2020-12-16 does not properly protect the database password. If an attacker were to gain access to the configuration file (specifically, the LogPassword attribute within appconfig.ini), they would be able to decrypt the password stored within the configuration file. This would yield cleartext credentials for the database (to gain access to financial records of customers stored within the database), and in some cases would allow remote login to the database.",
"id": "GHSA-55qq-wp4m-g5qv",
"modified": "2022-08-26T00:03:29Z",
"published": "2022-08-24T00:00:31Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-35992"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://github.com/micahvandeusen/PrologueDecrypt"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.fiserv.com"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-55W8-XHRF-5797
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 19:11 – Updated: 2022-07-13 00:01Certain NetModule devices have Insecure Password Handling (cleartext or reversible encryption), These models with firmware before 4.3.0.113, 4.4.0.111, and 4.5.0.105 are affected: NB800, NB1600, NB1601, NB1800, NB1810, NB2700, NB2710, NB2800, NB2810, NB3700, NB3701, NB3710, NB3711, NB3720, and NB3800.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2021-39289"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522",
"CWE-922"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2021-08-23T05:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "Certain NetModule devices have Insecure Password Handling (cleartext or reversible encryption), These models with firmware before 4.3.0.113, 4.4.0.111, and 4.5.0.105 are affected: NB800, NB1600, NB1601, NB1800, NB1810, NB2700, NB2710, NB2800, NB2810, NB3700, NB3701, NB3710, NB3711, NB3720, and NB3800.",
"id": "GHSA-55w8-xhrf-5797",
"modified": "2022-07-13T00:01:37Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T19:11:57Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-39289"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://www.netmodule.com"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://seclists.org/fulldisclosure/2021/Aug/22"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
GHSA-563C-77QF-C6MG
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-13 01:12 – Updated: 2022-05-13 01:12Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) 7.1(x) through 9.1(2) and the IM & Presence Service in Cisco Unified Presence Server through 9.1(2) use the same CTI and database-encryption key across different customers' installations, which makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms by leveraging knowledge of this key, aka Bug IDs CSCsc69187 and CSCui01756. NOTE: the vendor has provided a statement that the "hard-coded static encryption key is considered a hardening issue rather than a vulnerability, and as such, has a CVSS score of 0/0."
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2013-4869"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2013-07-18T12:48:00Z",
"severity": "LOW"
},
"details": "Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) 7.1(x) through 9.1(2) and the IM \u0026 Presence Service in Cisco Unified Presence Server through 9.1(2) use the same CTI and database-encryption key across different customers\u0027 installations, which makes it easier for context-dependent attackers to defeat cryptographic protection mechanisms by leveraging knowledge of this key, aka Bug IDs CSCsc69187 and CSCui01756. NOTE: the vendor has provided a statement that the \"hard-coded static encryption key is considered a hardening issue rather than a vulnerability, and as such, has a CVSS score of 0/0.\"",
"id": "GHSA-563c-77qf-c6mg",
"modified": "2022-05-13T01:12:20Z",
"published": "2022-05-13T01:12:20Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2013-4869"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://exchange.xforce.ibmcloud.com/vulnerabilities/85883"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "http://tools.cisco.com/security/center/content/CiscoSecurityAdvisory/cisco-sa-20130717-cucm"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": []
}
GHSA-5653-WCRH-6WRG
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2026-02-05 12:30 – Updated: 2026-02-05 12:30YugabyteDB Anywhere displays LDAP bind passwords configured via gflags in cleartext within the web UI. An authenticated user with access to the configuration view could obtain LDAP credentials, potentially enabling unauthorized access to external directory services.
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2026-1966"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2026-02-05T12:16:01Z",
"severity": "LOW"
},
"details": "YugabyteDB Anywhere displays LDAP bind passwords configured via gflags in cleartext within the web UI. An authenticated user with access to the configuration view could obtain LDAP credentials, potentially enabling unauthorized access to external directory services.",
"id": "GHSA-5653-wcrh-6wrg",
"modified": "2026-02-05T12:30:26Z",
"published": "2026-02-05T12:30:26Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-1966"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://docs.yugabyte.com/stable/secure/vulnerability-disclosure-policy"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:H/AT:P/PR:H/UI:A/VC:L/VI:L/VA:L/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X",
"type": "CVSS_V4"
}
]
}
GHSA-56FW-8MG6-5HVP
Vulnerability from github – Published: 2022-05-24 17:32 – Updated: 2024-03-21 03:33** DISPUTED ** SonarQube 8.4.2.36762 allows remote attackers to discover cleartext SMTP, SVN, and GitLab credentials via the api/settings/values URI. NOTE: reportedly, the vendor's position for SMTP and SVN is "it is the administrator's responsibility to configure it."
{
"affected": [],
"aliases": [
"CVE-2020-27986"
],
"database_specific": {
"cwe_ids": [
"CWE-306",
"CWE-522"
],
"github_reviewed": false,
"github_reviewed_at": null,
"nvd_published_at": "2020-10-28T23:15:00Z",
"severity": "HIGH"
},
"details": "** DISPUTED ** SonarQube 8.4.2.36762 allows remote attackers to discover cleartext SMTP, SVN, and GitLab credentials via the api/settings/values URI. NOTE: reportedly, the vendor\u0027s position for SMTP and SVN is \"it is the administrator\u0027s responsibility to configure it.\"",
"id": "GHSA-56fw-8mg6-5hvp",
"modified": "2024-03-21T03:33:56Z",
"published": "2022-05-24T17:32:39Z",
"references": [
{
"type": "ADVISORY",
"url": "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2020-27986"
},
{
"type": "WEB",
"url": "https://csl.com.co/sonarqube-auditando-al-auditor-parte-i"
}
],
"schema_version": "1.4.0",
"severity": [
{
"score": "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N",
"type": "CVSS_V3"
}
]
}
Mitigation
Use an appropriate security mechanism to protect the credentials.
Mitigation
Make appropriate use of cryptography to protect the credentials.
Mitigation
Use industry standards to protect the credentials (e.g. LDAP, keystore, etc.).
CAPEC-102: Session Sidejacking
Session sidejacking takes advantage of an unencrypted communication channel between a victim and target system. The attacker sniffs traffic on a network looking for session tokens in unencrypted traffic. Once a session token is captured, the attacker performs malicious actions by using the stolen token with the targeted application to impersonate the victim. This attack is a specific method of session hijacking, which is exploiting a valid session token to gain unauthorized access to a target system or information. Other methods to perform a session hijacking are session fixation, cross-site scripting, or compromising a user or server machine and stealing the session token.
CAPEC-474: Signature Spoofing by Key Theft
An attacker obtains an authoritative or reputable signer's private signature key by theft and then uses this key to forge signatures from the original signer to mislead a victim into performing actions that benefit the attacker.
CAPEC-50: Password Recovery Exploitation
An attacker may take advantage of the application feature to help users recover their forgotten passwords in order to gain access into the system with the same privileges as the original user. Generally password recovery schemes tend to be weak and insecure.
CAPEC-509: Kerberoasting
Through the exploitation of how service accounts leverage Kerberos authentication with Service Principal Names (SPNs), the adversary obtains and subsequently cracks the hashed credentials of a service account target to exploit its privileges. The Kerberos authentication protocol centers around a ticketing system which is used to request/grant access to services and to then access the requested services. As an authenticated user, the adversary may request Active Directory and obtain a service ticket with portions encrypted via RC4 with the private key of the authenticated account. By extracting the local ticket and saving it disk, the adversary can brute force the hashed value to reveal the target account credentials.
CAPEC-551: Modify Existing Service
When an operating system starts, it also starts programs called services or daemons. Modifying existing services may break existing services or may enable services that are disabled/not commonly used.
CAPEC-555: Remote Services with Stolen Credentials
This pattern of attack involves an adversary that uses stolen credentials to leverage remote services such as RDP, telnet, SSH, and VNC to log into a system. Once access is gained, any number of malicious activities could be performed.
CAPEC-560: Use of Known Domain Credentials
An adversary guesses or obtains (i.e. steals or purchases) legitimate credentials (e.g. userID/password) to achieve authentication and to perform authorized actions under the guise of an authenticated user or service.
CAPEC-561: Windows Admin Shares with Stolen Credentials
An adversary guesses or obtains (i.e. steals or purchases) legitimate Windows administrator credentials (e.g. userID/password) to access Windows Admin Shares on a local machine or within a Windows domain.
CAPEC-600: Credential Stuffing
An adversary tries known username/password combinations against different systems, applications, or services to gain additional authenticated access. Credential Stuffing attacks rely upon the fact that many users leverage the same username/password combination for multiple systems, applications, and services.
CAPEC-644: Use of Captured Hashes (Pass The Hash)
An adversary obtains (i.e. steals or purchases) legitimate Windows domain credential hash values to access systems within the domain that leverage the Lan Man (LM) and/or NT Lan Man (NTLM) authentication protocols.
CAPEC-645: Use of Captured Tickets (Pass The Ticket)
An adversary uses stolen Kerberos tickets to access systems/resources that leverage the Kerberos authentication protocol. The Kerberos authentication protocol centers around a ticketing system which is used to request/grant access to services and to then access the requested services. An adversary can obtain any one of these tickets (e.g. Service Ticket, Ticket Granting Ticket, Silver Ticket, or Golden Ticket) to authenticate to a system/resource without needing the account's credentials. Depending on the ticket obtained, the adversary may be able to access a particular resource or generate TGTs for any account within an Active Directory Domain.
CAPEC-652: Use of Known Kerberos Credentials
An adversary obtains (i.e. steals or purchases) legitimate Kerberos credentials (e.g. Kerberos service account userID/password or Kerberos Tickets) with the goal of achieving authenticated access to additional systems, applications, or services within the domain.
CAPEC-653: Use of Known Operating System Credentials
An adversary guesses or obtains (i.e. steals or purchases) legitimate operating system credentials (e.g. userID/password) to achieve authentication and to perform authorized actions on the system, under the guise of an authenticated user or service. This applies to any Operating System.