cwe-287-improper-authentication

name: cwe-287-improper-authentication description: Use this skill when you need to remediate CWE-287 (Improper Authentication) vulnerabilities in Java code. Triggers on SAST findings, security reviews, or when fixing improper authentication issues. version: 1.0.0 license: MIT tags:

• security
• java
• cwe-287
• remediation
• sast

CWE-287 Improper Authentication

Description

Improper Authentication

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

OWASP Category: A07:2021 – Identification and Authentication Failures

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

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

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"

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

Key Imports

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

import org.springframework.security.core.Authentication;

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

Trigger Examples

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

Common Vulnerable Locations

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

| Service | *Service.java | Business logic |

| Repository | *Repository.java | Data access |

References

• CWE-287: Improper Authentication

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