Ethical Hacking Essentials Practice Test

What is the primary weakness exploited in a broken authentication scenario?

1. Weak Passwords

2. Session Management

3. No Encryption

4. Improper Validation

The correct answer is: Session Management

In a broken authentication scenario, session management is the primary weakness that is exploited. Effective session management is vital for maintaining user identities and ensuring that once a user is authenticated, their session remains secure. If session management is flawed, it can allow attackers to hijack established sessions, gain unauthorized access to user accounts, or impersonate users without proper authorization. This vulnerability may manifest in various ways, such as using predictable session IDs, failing to invalidate sessions after logout, or poor handling of session cookies. Attackers can exploit these weaknesses to bypass authentication mechanisms entirely, gaining access to sensitive data or functionality meant for legitimate users. While weak passwords, lack of encryption, and improper validation are certainly significant security concerns, they do not directly relate to the primary challenge of maintaining and securing user sessions, which is central to broken authentication attacks.