Testing for Weak or unenforced username policy (OTG-IDENT-005)

Summary
User account names are often highly structured (e.g. Joe Bloggs account name is jbloggs and Fred Nurks account name is fnurks) and valid account names can easily be guessed.

Test objectives
Determine whether consistent account name structure renders the application vulnerable to account enumeration

Determine whether application's error messages permit account enumeration

How to test
Determine the structure of account names

Evaluate the application's response to valid and invalid account names

Use different responses to valid and invalid account names to enumerate valid account names

Use account name dictionaries to enumerate valid account names

Example


Remediation
Ensure the application returns consistent generic error messages in response to invalid account name, password or other user credentials entered during the login process.