| Recurring |
unknown |
(a) This specific software failure incident of a vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to Facebook accounts without a password does not mention any previous similar incidents happening again within the same organization. Therefore, there is no information provided in the article about a similar incident happening again at Facebook.
(b) The article does not mention any similar incidents happening at other organizations or with their products and services. Hence, there is no information provided in the article about a similar incident happening again at multiple organizations. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in the article can be attributed to a design flaw. The vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to Facebook accounts without a password was related to the way e-mails containing login links were structured and handled by the system. The flaw was centered on the links sent out by Facebook, which, once clicked, would log a user straight into an account without requiring a password. This design flaw in the system's email authentication process contributed to the security issue [15789].
(b) The software failure incident can also be linked to operational factors. The incident involved the misuse of the system by unauthorized users who could potentially exploit the vulnerability to access other people's Facebook accounts. The flaw was discovered through a search query that revealed the links and associated email addresses, indicating that the operational aspect of how the system handled and shared login links played a role in the security breach [15789]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident reported in the article is primarily within the system. The vulnerability that allowed some users to log in without a password was a flaw within Facebook's system. The flaw was related to the links sent out by Facebook in emails, which once clicked, would log a user straight into a Facebook account without the need for a password. This flaw was a result of how the system generated and handled these login links, indicating an internal system issue [Article 15789].
(b) outside_system: There is no explicit mention in the article of the software failure incident being caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system. The focus of the incident was on the vulnerability within Facebook's system that allowed unauthorized access without a password. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the article was primarily due to non-human actions. The vulnerability in Facebook's system allowed unauthorized access to accounts without the need for a password through a flaw in the links sent out in emails. This flaw was discovered and exploited by conducting a simple Google search query, indicating that the failure was a result of system vulnerability rather than direct human actions [15789].
(b) However, human actions also played a role in this incident as the flaw was initially posted on Hacker News, bringing attention to the vulnerability. Additionally, Facebook engineer Matt Jones mentioned that for a search engine to come across these links, the content of the emails would need to have been posted online, potentially by individuals sharing their email contents on public platforms [15789]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in the provided article [15789] does not mention any contributing factors originating in hardware. The vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to Facebook accounts was related to a flaw in the software system, specifically in the way e-mails containing login links were handled.
(b) The software failure incident in the provided article [15789] was primarily due to contributing factors originating in the software. The vulnerability in Facebook's system allowed unauthorized users to access accounts without a password by exploiting a flaw in the login link mechanism. This flaw was a software issue that enabled the unauthorized access, rather than a hardware-related problem. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is malicious in nature. The vulnerability in Facebook's system could potentially allow unauthorized users to access another person's Facebook account without the need for a password. This loophole was discovered and shared on Hacker News, indicating that the flaw was exploited by individuals with malicious intent to gain unauthorized access to user accounts [15789]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident reported in the article was primarily due to poor decisions. The vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to Facebook accounts without a password was a result of a flaw in the system where links sent via email could log a user straight into an account without requiring secondary authentication like entering a password. This flaw was exploited through a search query that exposed the links and potentially 1.3 million accounts to unauthorized logins. The incident highlighted a poor decision in the design and implementation of the email login feature, which led to the security loophole [Article 15789]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident related to development incompetence is evident in the Facebook vulnerability incident. The flaw that allowed some users to log in without a password was a result of a loophole in the system that could potentially have allowed unauthorized access to Facebook accounts. This vulnerability was posted on Hacker News, indicating a lack of professional competence in ensuring the security of user accounts [15789].
(b) The accidental nature of the software failure incident is highlighted by the fact that the vulnerability was discovered through a simple Google search query. The links in the emails sent out by Facebook were not meant to be publicly available, but they were inadvertently exposed through online archives or throwaway email sites. Additionally, the search query that found these links was disabled by Google, indicating that the exposure was unintentional [15789]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
From the provided article [15789], the software failure incident related to the Facebook vulnerability was temporary in nature. The flaw allowed unauthorized users to access Facebook accounts without a password by clicking on specific links in emails. These links were temporary and set to expire once the intended user clicked on them. Facebook disabled the feature for the time being to ensure the security of users whose email contents were publicly visible. The article mentions that most of the links in the search results would have already expired, indicating that the issue was temporary and not permanent. |
| Behaviour |
omission, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article does not involve a crash where the system loses state and does not perform any of its intended functions. The vulnerability allowed unauthorized access to Facebook accounts but did not result in a system crash [Article 15789].
(b) omission: The software failure incident can be categorized as an omission failure. The flaw in the system allowed some accounts to be accessed without a password, omitting the required authentication step for logging into Facebook accounts [Article 15789].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to a timing failure where the system performs its intended functions but at the wrong time. The vulnerability in this case did not involve timing issues but rather a loophole that allowed immediate access to accounts without proper authentication [Article 15789].
(d) value: The software failure incident does not fall under a value failure where the system performs its intended functions incorrectly. The flaw in the system allowed unauthorized access to accounts but did not involve incorrect performance of functions [Article 15789].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident is not a byzantine failure where the system behaves erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The vulnerability in this case allowed unauthorized access to accounts but did not involve inconsistent behavior or interactions within the system [Article 15789].
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident can be categorized as a security vulnerability leading to unauthorized access to accounts. The flaw allowed some users to log in without a password, potentially compromising the security of affected Facebook accounts [Article 15789]. |