Issue Details
Insecure Configuration Management
Aliases: None
Explanation
In OWASP 2003, A10 Insecure Configuration Management combines related risk themes across Security Misconfiguration. Security misconfiguration includes unsafe defaults, exposed services, and missing hardening controls. These weaknesses are often exploited as a chain: attackers start with weak input or trust boundaries, pivot through authorization or session gaps, and then move toward data exposure, integrity loss, or service disruption. Operationally, this can increase incident frequency, enlarge blast radius, and raise both remediation cost and compliance exposure when controls are missing or inconsistently enforced across services.
Remedy
For OWASP 2003 A10 Insecure Configuration Management, apply defense in depth across design, implementation, deployment, and operations rather than relying on a single control. Priority controls include: Harden defaults, disable unused services, patch regularly, and maintain environment-specific secure baselines. Treat mitigation as a continuous program: define security requirements up front, enforce them in CI/CD gates, and verify effectiveness with threat modeling, code review, automated testing, and recurring penetration testing. Add monitoring and incident-response readiness so misconfigurations, abuse patterns, and control regressions are detected early and corrected before they become repeatable attack paths.
| Year | Rank | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | #10 | A10 - Insecure Configuration Management |
| 2004 | #10 | A10 - Insecure Configuration Management |
| 2010 | #6 | A6 - Security Misconfiguration |
| 2017 | #6 | A6 - Security Misconfiguration |
| 2021 | #5 | A05 - Security Misconfiguration |
| 2025 | #2 | A02 - Security Misconfiguration |