Missing Authentication for Critical Function (CWE-306)

Missing Authentication for Critical Function

The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.

As data traverses trust boundaries, the data should be validated before being processed. When authentication is not applied to critical functions, attackers can invoke these functions without proving their identity.

Prevalence

High

Frequently exploited

Impact

High

6 high-severity rules

Prevention

Documented

6 fix examples

2 Prevention

How to fix this vulnerability

🐍 Python View all Python details →

Django View Missing Authentication HIGH

Add @login_required or @permission_required decorator to all protected views

+7 -5 python

- from django.http import JsonResponse
- from .models import Document
- 
- def delete_document(request, doc_id):
-     doc = Document.objects.get(id=doc_id)
+ from django.contrib.auth.decorators import login_required
+ from django.http import JsonResponse
+ from .models import Document
+ 
+ @login_required
+ def delete_document(request, doc_id):
+     doc = Document.objects.get(id=doc_id, owner=request.user)
      doc.delete()
      return JsonResponse({'status': 'deleted'})

FastAPI Endpoint Missing Authentication HIGH

Add authentication using FastAPI Depends() dependency injection

+10 -6 python

- from fastapi import FastAPI
- 
- app = FastAPI()
- 
- @app.delete("/users/{user_id}")
- async def delete_user(user_id: int):
+ from fastapi import FastAPI, Depends
+ from myapp.auth import get_current_user
+ 
+ app = FastAPI()
+ 
+ @app.delete("/users/{user_id}")
+ async def delete_user(
+     user_id: int,
+     current_user: User = Depends(get_current_user)
+ ):
      await User.filter(id=user_id).delete()
      return {"deleted": user_id}

🐹 Go View all Go details →

Echo Missing JWT Middleware HIGH

Add Echo JWT middleware to protect API endpoints

+13 -5 go

  package main
  
- import "github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
- 
- func main() {
-     e := echo.New()
-     e.POST("/api/transfer", transferHandler)
+ import (
+     "os"
+     "github.com/labstack/echo/v4"
+     echojwt "github.com/labstack/echo-jwt/v4"
+ )
+ 
+ func main() {
+     e := echo.New()
+     api := e.Group("/api")
+     api.Use(echojwt.WithConfig(echojwt.Config{
+         SigningKey: []byte(os.Getenv("JWT_SECRET")),
+     }))
+     api.POST("/transfer", transferHandler)
      e.Start(":8080")
  }

Fiber Missing JWT Middleware HIGH

Add Fiber JWT middleware to protect API endpoints

+13 -5 go

  package main
  
- import "github.com/gofiber/fiber/v2"
- 
- func main() {
-     app := fiber.New()
-     app.Post("/api/transfer", transferHandler)
+ import (
+     "os"
+     "github.com/gofiber/fiber/v2"
+     jwtware "github.com/gofiber/contrib/jwt"
+ )
+ 
+ func main() {
+     app := fiber.New()
+     api := app.Group("/api")
+     api.Use(jwtware.New(jwtware.Config{
+         SigningKey: jwtware.SigningKey{Key: []byte(os.Getenv("JWT_SECRET"))},
+     }))
+     api.Post("/transfer", transferHandler)
      app.Listen(":3000")
  }

Gin Missing JWT Middleware HIGH

Add JWT authentication middleware to protect API endpoints

+15 -5 go

  package main
  
- import "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
- 
- func main() {
-     r := gin.Default()
-     r.POST("/api/transfer", transferHandler)
+ import (
+     "os"
+     "github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+     jwt "github.com/appleboy/gin-jwt/v2"
+ )
+ 
+ func main() {
+     r := gin.Default()
+     auth, _ := jwt.New(&jwt.GinJWTMiddleware{
+         Realm: "api",
+         Key:   []byte(os.Getenv("JWT_SECRET")),
+     })
+     api := r.Group("/api")
+     api.Use(auth.MiddlewareFunc())
+     api.POST("/transfer", transferHandler)
      r.Run(":8080")
  }

🟨 JavaScript View all JavaScript details →

NestJS Endpoint Missing Authentication Guard HIGH

Add @UseGuards decorator with authentication guard at controller or method level

+5 -3 javascript

- import { Controller, Get, Post, Body, Param } from '@nestjs/common';
- 
- @Controller('users')
+ import { Controller, Get, Post, Body, Param, UseGuards } from '@nestjs/common';
+ import { JwtAuthGuard } from '../auth/jwt-auth.guard';
+ 
+ @Controller('users')
+ @UseGuards(JwtAuthGuard)
  export class UsersController {
    @Get(':id')
    findOne(@Param('id') id: string) {
      return this.usersService.findOne(id);
    }
  
    @Post()
    create(@Body() dto: CreateUserDto) {
      return this.usersService.create(dto);
    }
  }

3 Detection

Find vulnerabilities in your code

Use Shoulder to scan your codebase for Missing Authentication for Critical Function patterns. 6 rules.

terminal

# Scan with Shoulder CLI
npx @shoulderdev/cli trust --cwe=306

# Or scan entire project
npx @shoulderdev/cli trust .

Detection Rules (6)

🐹 Go 3 rules

Echo Missing JWT Middleware HIGH

API endpoints lack JWT authentication middleware protection.

Fiber Missing JWT Middleware HIGH

API endpoints lack JWT authentication middleware protection.

Gin Missing JWT Middleware HIGH

API endpoints lack JWT authentication middleware protection.

🐍 Python 2 rules

Django View Missing Authentication HIGH

Detects Django views that should require authentication but lack @login_required, @permission_required, or other authentication decorators.

FastAPI Endpoint Missing Authentication HIGH

Detects FastAPI endpoints that perform sensitive operations without authentication via Depends() dependency injection.

🔷 Typescript 1 rules

NestJS Endpoint Missing Authentication Guard HIGH

Endpoints without @UseGuards or @Public decorators are accessible to unauthenticated users, enabling unauthorized access.

4 Warning Signs

What to watch for in code reviews

These patterns indicate potential Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerabilities. Look for these during code reviews and security audits.

🟠

View handles sensitive operations without authentication decorator django-missing-authentication

🟠

Django views that should require authentication but lack @login_required, @permission_required, or o django-missing-authentication

🟠

Endpoint performs sensitive operations without Depends(get_current_user) or similar auth fastapi-missing-authentication

🟠

FastAPI endpoints that perform sensitive operations without authentication via Depends() dependency fastapi-missing-authentication

🟠

Gin application missing JWT authentication middleware go-gin-missing-jwt

🟠

NestJS endpoint has no @UseGuards() decorator for authentication nestjs-missing-auth-guard

🔍

Scan your codebase for Missing Authentication for Critical Function

Shoulder CLI finds vulnerable patterns across your entire codebase.

npx shoulder trust Browse all rules