| Recurring |
unknown |
(a) The software failure incident of exposing customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords due to a bug on the Xfinity website has not been reported to have happened again within the same organization, Comcast, or with its products and services [71282].
(b) There is no information in the provided article about a similar incident happening at other organizations or with their products and services. |
| Phase (Design/Operation) |
design, operation |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 71282 can be attributed to a design flaw. The issue arose from the website's setup process for Xfinity internet service, where entering a person's account ID and home address would reveal the Wi-Fi name and password in plaintext. This design flaw allowed anyone with access to the account ID or address to obtain sensitive information easily, potentially compromising users' security [71282].
(b) Additionally, the incident could also be linked to an operational failure. The misuse of the system, in this case, involved the potential unauthorized access to and modification of Wi-Fi names and passwords by individuals who exploited the flaw in the website's functionality. This misuse could have led to unauthorized changes in users' network settings, potentially locking them out of their own Wi-Fi networks [71282]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is within_system. The issue originated from within the Xfinity website, where customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords were exposed due to a bug in the activation process. The bug allowed anyone with the account ID or address to access and potentially change the Wi-Fi information of other users. Comcast confirmed that the issue was addressed within hours of discovery, indicating that the problem was internal to their system and not caused by external factors [71282]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 71282 was primarily due to non-human actions. The issue on the Xfinity website allowed anyone with the account ID and home address to access and potentially change the Wi-Fi name and password, exposing customers' sensitive information. This vulnerability was a result of a bug in the website's functionality, which displayed the router details in plaintext without requiring any malicious human intervention. Comcast quickly addressed the bug once discovered, indicating that the failure was primarily caused by a technical flaw in the software system rather than intentional human actions [71282]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 71282 was not due to hardware issues but rather a software bug. The incident involved a website set up by Xfinity that exposed customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords due to a bug in the system. The bug allowed anyone with the account ID or home address to access and potentially change the Wi-Fi name and password associated with that account. Comcast confirmed that the issue was related to the website's functionality and not hardware-related. The bug was promptly addressed by Comcast by shutting down the service and implementing additional security measures on the website [71282]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in this case was non-malicious. The issue on the Xfinity website that exposed customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords was due to a bug in the system that allowed anyone with the account ID or address to access this sensitive information. Comcast confirmed that the issue was addressed promptly once discovered, and they emphasized the importance of customer security. There is no indication in the article that this incident was caused by malicious intent to harm the system or customers' security [71282]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
accidental_decisions |
(a) The intent of the software failure incident was not due to poor decisions. The incident was primarily caused by a bug in the Xfinity website that exposed customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords when users entered their account ID and home address to activate their router. Comcast quickly addressed the issue by shutting down the service and implementing additional security measures [71282]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 71282 was not explicitly attributed to development incompetence. The incident was described as a bug on the Xfinity website that exposed customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords due to a flaw in the activation process. Comcast addressed the issue promptly after discovering it, indicating a quick response to mitigate the problem.
(b) The software failure incident in Article 71282 was categorized more as an accidental failure. The exposure of customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords was due to a bug in the website's activation process, allowing unauthorized access to sensitive information. Comcast confirmed that the issue was not intentional and took immediate action to shut down the service once they became aware of the vulnerability. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident described in Article 71282 was temporary. The incident involved a bug on the Xfinity website that exposed customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords. However, Comcast was able to address the issue within hours of discovering it and shut down the service that was causing the vulnerability. The company took immediate action to rectify the situation and implemented new security measures on the website to prevent further unauthorized access to customer information [71282]. |
| Behaviour |
value, other |
(a) crash: The software failure incident in the article did not involve a crash where the system lost state and did not perform any of its intended functions. The issue was related to exposing customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords due to a bug on the Xfinity website [71282].
(b) omission: The software failure incident did not involve omission where the system omitted to perform its intended functions at an instance(s). Instead, the bug on the Xfinity website led to the unintended exposure of Wi-Fi names and passwords [71282].
(c) timing: The software failure incident was not related to timing issues where the system performed its intended functions correctly but too late or too early. The issue was the exposure of sensitive information due to a bug on the Xfinity website [71282].
(d) value: The software failure incident was related to a value issue where the system performed its intended functions incorrectly by exposing customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords in plaintext [71282].
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident did not exhibit byzantine behavior where the system behaved erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. The issue was primarily about the security vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to Wi-Fi information [71282].
(f) other: The software failure incident involved a security vulnerability that allowed unauthorized access to customers' Wi-Fi names and passwords. The incident was promptly addressed by Comcast to ensure customer security [71282]. |