| Recurring |
unknown |
(a) The software failure incident related to the vulnerability in Twitter's software exposing users of anonymous accounts to potential identity compromise is a unique incident specific to Twitter as reported in Article #131299. There is no mention of a similar incident happening again within the same organization.
(b) There is no information in Article #131299 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 the article was related to the design phase. The vulnerability in Twitter's software that exposed users' identities was due to a flaw introduced in a June 2021 software update. The bug allowed someone to determine if a phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, leading to the exposure of account owners [131299].
(b) The software failure incident in the article was also related to the operation phase. The breach occurred when a bad actor exploited the vulnerability in Twitter's software before it was addressed. This exploitation led to the potential compromise of user identities, affecting users worldwide [131299]. |
| Boundary (Internal/External) |
within_system, outside_system |
(a) within_system: The software failure incident related to the Twitter vulnerability exposing anonymous account owners to potential identity compromise was due to a vulnerability in Twitter's software itself. The vulnerability allowed someone to determine during log-in whether a particular phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, thereby revealing account owners. This flaw was introduced in a June 2021 software update and was immediately fixed after being discovered by a security researcher [131299].
(b) outside_system: The software failure incident was exploited by a malicious actor who took advantage of the vulnerability within Twitter's software. The malicious actor then reportedly offered data obtained from the vulnerability for sale on a popular hacking forum for $30,000. This external exploitation of the software vulnerability led to the exposure of an undetermined number of users worldwide [131299]. |
| Nature (Human/Non-human) |
non-human_actions, human_actions |
(a) The software failure incident in the Twitter vulnerability was due to non-human actions. The vulnerability was a result of a bug introduced in a June 2021 software update, which allowed someone to determine if a phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, exposing account owners [131299]. The flaw was discovered by a security researcher, who informed Twitter, and the bug was immediately fixed by the company. The breach was exploited by a malicious actor, leading to potential identity compromise for users of anonymous accounts [131299].
(b) The software failure incident in the Twitter vulnerability was also influenced by human actions. The bug that led to the vulnerability was introduced in a software update by human developers at Twitter in June 2021 [131299]. Additionally, the security researcher who discovered the flaw and reported it to Twitter was paid a bounty of $5,000, indicating human involvement in identifying and addressing the issue [131299]. |
| Dimension (Hardware/Software) |
software |
(a) The software failure incident reported in Article 131299 was not attributed to hardware issues. The vulnerability in Twitter's software that exposed users' identities was due to a flaw introduced in a June 2021 software update, as mentioned in the article. The breach allowed a malicious actor to determine if a phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, leading to potential identity compromise [131299].
(b) The software failure incident in Article 131299 originated in software. The vulnerability in Twitter's software, introduced in a software update, allowed for the exposure of user identities. The flaw was exploited by a bad actor, leading to concerns about the security and privacy of account owners, particularly those with pseudonymous accounts [131299]. |
| Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) |
malicious |
(a) The software failure incident in Article 131299 was malicious in nature. The vulnerability in Twitter's software was exploited by a malicious actor, leading to the exposure of an undetermined number of owners of anonymous accounts to potential identity compromise. Data obtained from the vulnerability was being sold on a popular hacking forum, indicating malicious intent [131299]. |
| Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) |
poor_decisions |
(a) The software failure incident related to the Twitter vulnerability was primarily due to poor decisions made during a software update. The vulnerability that exposed users' information was introduced in a June 2021 software update by Twitter. This update included a bug that allowed malicious actors to determine if a particular phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, compromising the anonymity of users [131299]. Additionally, the incident highlighted poor decisions in terms of data security practices, as Twitter acknowledged that the flaw was exploited by a bad actor before it was addressed, leading to potential data exposure for users worldwide [131299]. |
| Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) |
development_incompetence |
(a) The software failure incident in the Twitter vulnerability can be attributed to development incompetence as it was caused by a bug introduced in a June 2021 software update [131299]. The bug allowed a malicious actor to exploit a vulnerability in Twitter's software, leading to the exposure of an undetermined number of users of anonymous accounts to potential identity compromise. The security researcher who discovered the flaw informed Twitter, and the company paid a bounty for the report. This incident highlights the importance of professional competence in software development to prevent such vulnerabilities from being introduced in updates. |
| Duration |
temporary |
The software failure incident reported in Article 131299 was temporary. The incident was caused by a vulnerability in Twitter's software that was exploited by a malicious actor, leading to the exposure of an undetermined number of owners of anonymous accounts to potential identity compromise. The vulnerability allowed the malicious actor to determine if a particular phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, thereby revealing account owners. This incident was not a permanent failure but rather a temporary one caused by specific circumstances, such as the vulnerability introduced in a June 2021 software update [131299]. |
| 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.
(b) omission: The software vulnerability in Twitter's software led to the omission of protecting the anonymity of account owners of anonymous accounts. The vulnerability allowed someone to determine during log-in whether a particular phone number or email address was tied to an existing Twitter account, thereby revealing account owners [131299].
(c) timing: The software failure incident is not related to timing issues where the system performs its intended functions but too late or too early.
(d) value: The software failure incident does not involve the system performing its intended functions incorrectly.
(e) byzantine: The software failure incident does not exhibit byzantine behavior with inconsistent responses and interactions.
(f) other: The behavior of the software failure incident in the article can be categorized as a security vulnerability that exposed the identities of anonymous account owners, leading to potential identity compromise by a malicious actor [131299]. |