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CWE-693: Protection Mechanism Failure

Overview

This guidance helps you interpret and remediate findings from DAST (Dynamic Application Security Testing) tools. The scanner detected that implemented security controls failed to prevent attacks. Evidence includes successful attacks despite documented security features (bypassed WAF, defeated CAPTCHA, evaded rate limiting), or protection mechanisms that don't activate under attack conditions. Dynamic testing reveals that security controls are present but ineffective against real-world attacks.

Analyzing the Dynamic Scan Result

What the DAST Scanner Found

DAST findings for CWE-693 typically indicate that an expected security control was not present or not enforced at runtime, such as:

  • Functionality accessible without authentication
  • Actions performed without authorization checks
  • Requests accepted without integrity or origin validation
  • Security headers or enforcement mechanisms absent

Evidence is based on observed runtime behavior where protections that should exist were not applied.

Mapping DAST Findings to Source Code

CWE-693 does not map to a specific endpoint or parameter. The issue resides in the absence or failure of a security control that should protect a class of functionality.

When tracing this issue in code and configuration, review:

  • Where authentication and authorization are enforced
  • Whether security middleware or filters are consistently applied
  • Default-deny vs allow-by-default behavior
  • Configuration flags that disable security mechanisms
  • Framework or infrastructure features intended to provide protection

Remediation

Core Principle: Never rely on the absence of misuse; all security-sensitive functionality must be protected by explicit, enforced security controls that cannot be bypassed by request manipulation or execution path changes.

→ For comprehensive remediation guidance, see Static CWE-693 Guidance

Verification and Follow-Up Testing

After applying the fix:

1. Verify Control Enforcement

  • Confirm the intended security control is present and enforced
  • Ensure protected functionality cannot be accessed without the required safeguards

2. Test Edge Cases

  • Alternate execution paths and error handling
  • Multi-step workflows
  • Configuration and environment differences

Re-run DAST Scanner

Re-run the dynamic scanner to confirm missing or unenforced protections are no longer observed.

Additional Resources