| Recurring |
one_organization |
(a) The software failure incident related to PayPal's security mechanism vulnerability in two-factor authentication (2FA) has happened again within the same organization. The vulnerability in PayPal's Security Key, which allowed for bypassing the second factor of authentication, was discovered by researchers at US firm Duo Security. This incident highlighted a flaw in PayPal's 2FA implementation, indicating a recurring issue within PayPal's security mechanisms [27414].
(b) There is no specific 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 related to the design phase is evident in the vulnerability found in PayPal's two-factor authentication (2FA) mechanism. Researchers at Duo Security discovered a flaw in the implementation of 2FA, which allowed for a bypass of the second factor of authentication on mobile clients like PayPal for iPad or Android. This flaw was present in the software for years, indicating a design weakness in the security mechanism [27414].
(b) The software failure incident related to the operation phase is demonstrated by the exploit that allowed users to bypass the 2FA on the mobile app by briefly turning off connectivity during the login process. This operation-based vulnerability was identified by tech entrepreneur Daniel Blake Saltman, who used flight mode to quickly disable connectivity and remain logged in without completing the second factor of authentication. This operation-based flaw highlights a misuse of the system's functionality [27414]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system |
(a) within_system:
The software failure incident related to the PayPal Security Key vulnerability was primarily within the system. The flaw was in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism, specifically in how the mobile app interacted with PayPal servers. Researchers were able to exploit this vulnerability by manipulating the communication between the app and the APIs to bypass the second factor of authentication [27414].
(b) outside_system:
There is no specific mention in the article of the software failure incident being caused by contributing factors originating from outside the system. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in this case occurred due to non-human actions, specifically a flaw in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism. Researchers discovered a vulnerability in PayPal's Security Key that allowed hackers to bypass the second factor of authentication by exploiting a flaw in the mobile app's connectivity handling. This flaw was present in the software for years and was not introduced by human actions but rather was a result of poor implementation of the two-factor authentication system [27414].
(b) The software failure incident was not directly caused by human actions but rather by a flaw in the software itself. However, it was a human, tech entrepreneur Daniel Blake Saltman, who discovered the vulnerability and reported it to PayPal and researchers at Duo Security. PayPal then took action to address the issue and implement a temporary fix to protect users while working on a full fix for the vulnerability [27414]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
hardware, software |
(a) The software failure incident related to hardware:
- The vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism, specifically in the PayPal Security Key, allowed for a bypass that could compromise accounts and potentially lead to funds being stolen [27414].
- The flaw in the two-factor authentication system was exploited by manipulating the connectivity settings on a mobile device, indicating a potential hardware-related vulnerability in how the app interacted with the device's network connectivity [27414].
(b) The software failure incident related to software:
- The vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication system was a result of a flaw in the software implementation, allowing for the bypass of the second factor of authentication [27414].
- Researchers were able to replicate the attack by writing a small program in Python that mimicked the processes of the mobile app, highlighting a software-related issue in how the app communicated with PayPal servers and APIs [27414]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
non-malicious |
(a) The software failure incident described in the article is non-malicious. The vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism was discovered by researchers at Duo Security and reported to PayPal by tech entrepreneur Daniel Blake Saltman [27414]. The flaw allowed users to bypass the second factor of authentication by exploiting a gap in the mobile app's functionality, which was not designed to work with 2FA on mobile clients. The incident was not caused by malicious intent but rather by a design flaw in the software that made it vulnerable to exploitation.
(b) The software failure incident was not malicious but rather a result of a flaw in the implementation of the two-factor authentication mechanism by PayPal. The vulnerability was identified by researchers and reported to PayPal for remediation. The incident highlights a non-malicious software failure that could have potentially exposed users to unauthorized access to their accounts [27414]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions, accidental_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to poor decisions:
- The incident with PayPal's security mechanism was described as "shoddy" by researchers, indicating poor implementation [27414].
- Researchers at Duo Security highlighted that the two-factor authentication (2FA) mechanism in PayPal was implemented in a way that damaged the benefits it was supposed to offer, suggesting poor decision-making in the design and implementation of the security feature [27414].
- The vulnerability in PayPal's 2FA mechanism allowed for a simple exploit that bypassed the second factor of authentication, indicating a lack of robustness in the security design [27414].
(b) The software failure incident related to accidental decisions:
- The vulnerability in PayPal's security mechanism was discovered by a tech entrepreneur, Daniel Blake Saltman, who accidentally found a way to exploit the flaw by turning off connectivity in a brief gap during the login process [27414].
- The accidental discovery of the vulnerability led to the identification of more serious underlying issues in how the app connected with PayPal servers, suggesting unintended consequences of the software design [27414].
- PayPal's temporary fix and subsequent full fix planned for the future indicate that the vulnerability was not intentionally introduced but rather an unintended consequence of the software implementation [27414]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence, accidental |
(a) The software failure incident in the PayPal Security Key system can be attributed to development incompetence. Researchers at Duo Security discovered a vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism that allowed hackers to bypass the second factor of authentication by exploiting a flaw in the mobile app. This flaw was described as a "shoddy add-on" by Duo Security, indicating a lack of professional competence in implementing proper security measures [27414].
(b) The software failure incident can also be categorized as accidental. The vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication system was accidentally discovered by tech entrepreneur Daniel Blake Saltman, who used flight mode to exploit the flaw and bypass the second factor of authentication. Additionally, the vulnerability may have been present in the software for years without being detected, suggesting an accidental oversight in the development and testing processes [27414]. |
| Duration |
temporary |
(a) The software failure incident in the article was temporary. PayPal issued a temporary fix to protect users from the vulnerability in their two-factor authentication mechanism [27414]. The temporary fix was implemented to prevent hackers from exploiting the flaw in the system, indicating that the failure was not permanent but rather a result of specific circumstances that allowed for the vulnerability to be exploited.
(b) The software failure incident was not permanent but rather a temporary issue that required immediate action to mitigate the risk posed by the vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism [27414]. The article mentions that PayPal disabled the ability for customers with 2FA to log in via certain mobile apps until a full fix could be implemented, indicating that the failure was not a permanent one but rather a situation that needed to be addressed promptly. |
| Behaviour |
omission, value, 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. [27414]
(b) omission: The vulnerability in PayPal's two-factor authentication mechanism allowed the system to omit the proper authentication step, thereby omitting to perform its intended function of providing secure access to user accounts. This omission led to a potential security breach. [27414]
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions but at the wrong time. [27414]
(d) value: The software failure incident is related to the system performing its intended functions incorrectly, as the two-factor authentication mechanism was bypassed, leading to unauthorized access to user accounts. This incorrect behavior compromised the security of the system. [27414]
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not involve the system behaving erroneously with inconsistent responses and interactions. [27414]
(f) other: The software failure incident involves a specific type of vulnerability in the two-factor authentication mechanism of PayPal, where the system allowed users to bypass the second factor of authentication by exploiting a flaw in the mobile app's behavior. This behavior was not a typical crash or omission but rather a specific flaw in the authentication process. [27414] |