Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm
The product uses a broken or risky cryptographic algorithm or protocol.
Cryptographic algorithms are the backbone of modern information security. Using algorithms that have known weaknesses, such as MD5 or DES, can make it trivial for attackers to defeat the protection.
Prevalence
High
Frequently exploited
Impact
High
3 high-severity rules
Prevention
Documented
4 fix examples
2 Prevention
2 Prevention
How to fix this vulnerability
Prevention strategies for Broken Cryptographic Algorithm based on 4 Shoulder detection rules.
Use of Weak Cryptographic Algorithm
HIGH
Replace MD5/SHA1/DES/RC4 with bcrypt, SHA-256, or AES-GCM
- import "crypto/md5" - - func hashPassword(password string) string { - hash := md5.Sum([]byte(password)) - return hex.EncodeToString(hash[:]) + import "golang.org/x/crypto/bcrypt" + + func hashPassword(password string) (string, error) { + hash, err := bcrypt.GenerateFromPassword([]byte(password), 12) + if err != nil { + return "", err + } + return string(hash), nil }
JavaScript
View all JavaScript details →
JWT Algorithm Confusion Attack
HIGH
Always specify allowed algorithms when verifying JWT tokens
- const decoded = jwt.verify(token, secret); + const decoded = jwt.verify(token, secret, { + algorithms: ['RS256'] + });
Use of Weak Cryptographic Algorithm
HIGH
Use SHA-256+ for hashing, AES-256-GCM for encryption, and bcrypt for passwords
- const hash = crypto.createHash('md5').update(data).digest('hex'); + const hash = crypto.createHash('sha256').update(data).digest('hex');
Python
View all Python details →
Weak Cryptographic Algorithm
MEDIUM
Replace MD5/SHA-1/DES/RC4 with SHA-256/SHA-3 for hashing and AES-GCM for encryption
import hashlib def verify_integrity(data): - return hashlib.md5(data.encode()).hexdigest() + return hashlib.sha256(data.encode()).hexdigest()
3 Detection
3 Detection
Find vulnerabilities in your code
Use Shoulder to scan your codebase for Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm patterns. 4 rules.
# Scan with Shoulder CLI npx @shoulderdev/cli trust --cwe=327 # Or scan entire project npx @shoulderdev/cli trust .
Detection Rules (4)
🟨
Javascript
2 rules
JWT Algorithm Confusion Attack
HIGH
Detects JWT verification without explicit algorithm specification, allowing "none" algorithm attacks that bypass authentication.
Use of Weak Cryptographic Algorithm
HIGH
Detects use of weak or broken cryptographic algorithms for hashing passwords
or sensitive data.
**Weak algorithms detected:**
- **MD5**: Cryptographically broken, vulnerable to collision attacks
- **SHA1**: Deprecated, vulnerable to collision attacks
- **DES/3DES**: Weak block cipher with small key size
- **RC4**: Stream cipher with known vulnerabilities
**Impact:**
- Password hashes can be cracked using rainbow tables or brute force
- Data encrypted with weak algorithms can be decrypted by attackers
- Integrity of hashed data cannot be guaranteed
**For password hashing**, use:
- bcrypt (recommended)
- scrypt
- argon2
- PBKDF2 with strong parameters
**For general hashing**, use:
- SHA-256 or SHA-512 (for non-password data)
- SHA-3 for future-proofing
**For encryption**, use:
- AES-256-GCM
- ChaCha20-Poly1305
🔷
Typescript
2 rules
JWT Algorithm Confusion Attack
HIGH
Detects JWT verification without explicit algorithm specification, allowing "none" algorithm attacks that bypass authentication.
Use of Weak Cryptographic Algorithm
HIGH
Detects use of weak or broken cryptographic algorithms for hashing passwords
or sensitive data.
**Weak algorithms detected:**
- **MD5**: Cryptographically broken, vulnerable to collision attacks
- **SHA1**: Deprecated, vulnerable to collision attacks
- **DES/3DES**: Weak block cipher with small key size
- **RC4**: Stream cipher with known vulnerabilities
**Impact:**
- Password hashes can be cracked using rainbow tables or brute force
- Data encrypted with weak algorithms can be decrypted by attackers
- Integrity of hashed data cannot be guaranteed
**For password hashing**, use:
- bcrypt (recommended)
- scrypt
- argon2
- PBKDF2 with strong parameters
**For general hashing**, use:
- SHA-256 or SHA-512 (for non-password data)
- SHA-3 for future-proofing
**For encryption**, use:
- AES-256-GCM
- ChaCha20-Poly1305
🐹
Go
1 rules
4 Warning Signs
4 Warning Signs
What to watch for in code reviews
These patterns indicate potential Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm vulnerabilities. Look for these during code reviews and security audits.
Weak cryptographic algorithm detected: ...
go-weak-crypto-algorithm
jwt.verify() without algorithm specification allows 'none' algorithm attack
javascript-jwt-algorithm-confusion
JWT verification without explicit algorithm specification, allowing "none" algorithm attacks that by
javascript-jwt-algorithm-confusion
use of weak or broken cryptographic algorithms for hashing passwords
or sensitive data
javascript-weak-crypto-algorithm
use of weak or deprecated cryptographic algorithms like MD5, SHA-1,
DES, or RC4
python-weak-crypto-algorithm
Scan your codebase for Use of a Broken or Risky Cryptographic Algorithm
Shoulder CLI finds vulnerable patterns across your entire codebase.