Glossary · MWE Terms · P
L1 — paginated flat list. Pick a POS, pick a letter.
TermTypeDefinitionClassificationsUpdated
pass outverbMWEpass out from weakness, physical or emotional distress due to a loss of blood supply to the braincandidate
Passbook Savings AccountnounMWEa savings account in which deposits and withdrawals are recorded in the depositor's passbookverified
Passeriform BirdnounMWEperching birds mostly small and living near the ground with feet having 4 toes arranged to allow for gripping the perchverified
Passing GamenounMWE(American football) a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammateverified
Passing PlaynounMWEin American football, a play that involves one player throwing the ball to a teammateverified
Passive Air DefensenounMWEair defense by the use of deception or dispersion or protective constructionverified
passive attacknounMWEAn attack against an authentication protocol where the Attacker intercepts data traveling along the network between the Claimant and Verifier, but does not alter the data (i.e., eavesdropping).verified
passive entitynounMWEA system resource — such as a device, file, record, table, domain, or process — that holds or receives information but does not itself initiate actions or requests. What distinguishes it from an active entity (a subject) is precisely this non-initiating character: it sits in the position of being *acted upon*, not acting. Access control mechanisms govern the relationship by granting or revoking privileges for active entities (subjects) to access or perform operations on passive entities (objects). In authoritative frameworks, the term appears as the standard counterpart to "subject" in the subject–object model: access control policies control access between active entities or subjects — users or processes acting on behalf of users — and passive entities or objects, such as devices, files, records, and domains. A passive entity contains or receives information, and access to it by a subject implies access to the information it contains.verified
Passive ImmunitynounMWEan impermanent form of acquired immunity in which antibodies against a disease are acquired naturally through the placenta to an unborn child or artificially by injection of antiserumverified
Passive Learning AgentnounMWEA passive learning agent has a fixed policy that determines its behavior. An active learning agent gets to decide what actions to take.verified
Passive ResistancenounMWEpeaceful resistance to a government by fasting or refusing to cooperateverified
Passive responsenounMWEA response option in intrusion detection in which the system simply reports and records the problem detected, relying on the user to take subsequent actionverified
Passive Security TestingnounMWESecurity testing that does not involve any direct interaction with the targets, such as sending packets to a target.verified
Passive SourcenounMWEan informant who is not assigned to obtain specific intelligence but who routinely passes on whatever information he or she hasverified
Passive VoicenounMWEthe voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is the recipient (not the source) of the action denoted by the verbverified
Passive WiretappingnounMWEThe monitoring or recording of data while it is being transmitted over a communications link, without altering or affecting the data.verified
Password Authentication ProtocolnounMWEPassword Authentication Protocol is a simple, weak authentication mechanism where a user enters the password and it is then sent across the network, usually in the clear.verified
password complexitynounMWEA set of rules that defines what set of characters and the amount of characters a password must contain.verified
Password crackernounMWEA tool that tests the strength of user passwords by searching for passwords that are easy to guess It repeatedly tries words from specially crafted dictionaries and often also generates thousands (and in some cases, even millions) of permutations of characters, numbers and symbols.verified
Password CrackingnounMWEThe process of recovering secret passwords stored in a computer system or transmitted over a network.verified
password parameternounMWEA setting that defines a condition or requirement that a password must match.verified
Password ProtectednounMWEThe ability to protect a file using a password access control, protecting the data contents from being viewed with the appropriate viewer unless the proper password is entered.verified
Password SniffingnounMWEPassive wiretapping, usually on a local area network, to gain knowledge of passwords.verified
Past Progressive TensenounMWEa progressive tense used to describe on-going action in the pastverified
Pasteurized MilknounMWEmilk that has been exposed briefly to high temperatures to destroy microorganisms and prevent fermentationverified
patch and vulnerability management processnounMWEOne of the many process associated with the patching of software applications and the situations when an organization is forced to make emergency configuration changes that may reduce functionality to protect the organization from exploitation of the vulnerability.verified
patch lognounMWEA list that shows patches that been installed and need to be installed to update software.verified
Patch managementnounMWEThe systematic notification, identification, deployment, installation, and verification of operating system and application software code revisions. These revisions are known as patches, hot fixes, and service packs.verified
patch management programnounMWEA documented approach for organizing and directing all activities undertaken to manage patches or upgrades for software and hardware.verified
Patch TestnounMWEa test to determine allergic sensitivity by applying small pads soaked with allergen to the unbroken skinverified
patching operationnounMWEA coordinated, end-to-end execution activity — encompassing vulnerability identification, patch acquisition, testing, scheduling, deployment, and verification — carried out against a defined set of systems or assets within a managed change-management framework. It is distinguished from *patch management* (the overarching program or policy) by its operational, time-bounded character: a patching operation is the discrete act of *doing* the work, not the governance structure that governs it. In practice, the field uses it to describe the full workflow that must be completed in order to close a known vulnerability window, covering everything from urgency review through post-deployment confirmation, and it appears in standards guidance — notably CISA's recommended practice for control-system patch management — as a structured flow with discrete decision points such as emergency versus routine cadences, change-control approvals, and rollback options.verified
Patellar ReflexnounMWEa reflex extension of the leg resulting from a sharp tap on the patellar tendonverified
Patent MedicinenounMWEmedicine that is protected by a patent and available without a doctor's prescriptionverified
Paternity SuitnounMWEa lawsuit filed to determine the father of a child born out of wedlock (and to provide for the support of the child once paternity is determined)verified
Paternity TestnounMWEa test based on blood groups to determine whether a particular man could be the biological father of a particular childverified
Path HistoriesnounMWEMaintaining an authenticatable record of the prior platforms visited by a mobile software agent, so that a newly visited platform can determine whether to process the agent and what resource constraints to apply.verified