CWE · MITRE source
CWE-384Session Fixation
Authenticating a user, or otherwise establishing a new user session, without invalidating any existing session identifier gives an attacker the opportunity to steal authenticated sessions.
Such a scenario is commonly observed when: In the generic exploit of session fixation vulnerabilities, an attacker creates a new session on a web application and records the associated session identifier. The attacker then causes the victim to associate, and possibly authenticate, against the server using that session identifier, giving the attacker access to the user's account through the active session.
Last updated: 20 August 2026 14:15 UTC
Cumulative inbound coverage
How completely the frameworks we cross-walk collectively cover this — the verdict is the strongest single mapping (overlapping partials are not summed); breadth shows the corroboration behind it.
Collective: full · 6 mapping(s) from 1 framework(s): CAPEC 6 (full)
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
This weakness contributes to A07:2025 Authentication Failures.
Control responseHuman-reviewed
Answering this weakness across the control lifecycle, from our framework cross-walks.
NIST 800-53 r5 controls that address this weakness (3)AI-assisted
| Control | Title | Family | Why it addresses this CWE |
|---|---|---|---|
AC-12 | Session Termination | AC | Session termination after a set interval shortens the usable lifetime of a fixed session identifier, making successful exploitation of session fixation more difficult. |
IA-11 | Re-authentication | IA | Re-authentication typically forces issuance of a new session, limiting the window for exploitation of a previously fixed session identifier. |
SC-23 | Session Authenticity | SC | Enforces proper session ID generation and binding, preventing fixation of a known session token. |
MITRE ATT&CK techniques this weakness enables
Our own two-way CWE↔ATT&CK cross-walk — a direct mapping with no public source (the CWE→CAPEC→ATT&CK chain leaves most top weaknesses, incl. XSS and SQLi, mapped to nothing).
Direction: ← other covers this;
→ this covers other (F/M/P = full / mostly /
partial). gov = governs / implements (a mandate, not coverage).
Top CVEs of this weakness type, ranked by Risk Priority
| CVE | Risk | CVSS | EPSS | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CVE-2018-11714 UPD | 9.8 | 9.8 | 0.6805 | 2018-06-04 |
CVE-2018-18925 UPD | 8.9 | 9.8 | 0.3113 | 2018-11-04 |
CVE-2017-12965 UPD | 8.4 | 9.8 | 0.1567 | 2017-08-23 |
CVE-2025-52689 UPD | 8.3 | 9.8 | 0.1154 | 2025-07-16 |
CVE-2021-36394 UPD | 8.1 | 9.8 | 0.0703 | 2023-03-06 |
CVE-2015-4594 UPD | 8.0 | 9.8 | 0.0624 | 2017-01-10 |
CVE-2015-1820 UPD | 7.9 | 9.8 | 0.0435 | 2017-08-09 |
CVE-2019-18418 UPD | 7.9 | 9.8 | 0.0400 | 2019-10-24 |
CVE-2015-1174 UPD | 7.8 | 9.8 | 0.0291 | 2017-08-02 |
CVE-2016-6545 UPD | 7.8 | 9.8 | 0.0306 | 2018-07-13 |
CVE-2018-18926 UPD | 7.8 | 9.8 | 0.0304 | 2018-11-04 |
CVE-2019-5523 UPD | 7.8 | 9.8 | 0.0326 | 2019-04-01 |
CVE-2019-10008 UPD | 7.8 | 8.8 | 0.1940 | 2019-04-24 |
CVE-2016-9125 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0266 | 2017-03-28 |
CVE-2017-12868 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0213 | 2017-09-01 |
CVE-2016-10405 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0193 | 2017-09-07 |
CVE-2018-6959 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0203 | 2018-04-13 |
CVE-2019-10158 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0196 | 2020-01-02 |
CVE-2020-5543 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0221 | 2020-03-16 |
CVE-2021-20151 UPD | 7.7 | 10.0 | 0.0161 | 2021-12-30 |
CVE-2022-38054 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0192 | 2022-09-02 |
CVE-2023-31498 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0213 | 2023-05-11 |
CVE-2017-12873 UPD | 7.6 | 9.8 | 0.0166 | 2017-09-01 |
CVE-2018-12071 UPD | 7.6 | 9.8 | 0.0150 | 2018-06-17 |
CVE-2020-11729 UPD | 7.6 | 9.8 | 0.0188 | 2020-04-15 |