CWE-336

Same Seed in Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG)
AI Translation Available

A Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) uses the same seed each time the product is initialized.

Status
draft
Abstraction
variant

Given the deterministic nature of PRNGs, using the same seed for each initialization will lead to the same output in the same order. If an attacker can guess (or knows) the seed, then the attacker may be able to determine the random numbers that will be produced from the PRNG.

Common Consequences

other access control
Impacts
other bypass protection mechanism

Detection Methods

automated static analysis

Potential Mitigations

Phases:
architecture and design requirements
Descriptions:
• Do not reuse PRNG seeds. Consider a PRNG that periodically re-seeds itself as needed from a high quality pseudo-random output, such as hardware devices.
• Use products or modules that conform to FIPS 140-2 [REF-267] to avoid obvious entropy problems, or use the more recent FIPS 140-3 [REF-1192] if possible.