Weakness Base Elements

A view in the Common Weakness Enumeration published by The MITRE Corporation.


Objective

Views in the Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) represent one perspective with which to consider a set of weaknesses.

This view (slice) displays only weakness base elements.

Weaknesses

Absolute Path Traversal

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize absolute path sequences such ...

Acceptance of Extraneous Untrusted Data With Trusted Data

The product, when processing trusted data, accepts any untrusted data that is also included with the trusted data, treating the untrusted data as if it were trusted.

Access Control Check Implemented After Asset is Accessed

A product's hardware-based access control check occurs after the asset has been accessed.

Access of Memory Location After End of Buffer

The product reads or writes to a buffer using an index or pointer that references a memory location after the end of the buffer.

Access of Memory Location Before Start of Buffer

The product reads or writes to a buffer using an index or pointer that references a memory location prior to the beginning of the buffer.

Access of Resource Using Incompatible Type ('Type Confusion')

The product allocates or initializes a resource such as a pointer, object, or variable using one type, but it later accesses that resource using a type that is incompa...

Access of Uninitialized Pointer

The product accesses or uses a pointer that has not been initialized.

Access to Critical Private Variable via Public Method

The product defines a public method that reads or modifies a private variable.

Active Debug Code

The product is deployed to unauthorized actors with debugging code still enabled or active, which can create unintended entry points or expose sensitive information.

Addition of Data Structure Sentinel

The accidental addition of a data-structure sentinel can cause serious programming logic problems.

Allocation of Resources Without Limits or Throttling

The product allocates a reusable resource or group of resources on behalf of an actor without imposing any restrictions on the size or number of resources that can be ...

Application-Level Admin Tool with Inconsistent View of Underlying Operating System

The product provides an application for administrators to manage parts of the underlying operating system, but the application does not accurately identify all of the ...

Architecture with Number of Horizontal Layers Outside of Expected Range

The product's architecture contains too many - or too few - horizontal layers.

Assignment to Variable without Use

The variable's value is assigned but never used, making it a dead store.

Assumed-Immutable Data is Stored in Writable Memory

Immutable data, such as a first-stage bootloader, device identifiers, and "write-once" configuration settings are stored in writable memory that can be re-programmed o...

Authentication Bypass by Alternate Name

The product performs authentication based on the name of a resource being accessed, or the name of the actor performing the access, but it does not properly check all ...

Authentication Bypass by Assumed-Immutable Data

The authentication scheme or implementation uses key data elements that are assumed to be immutable, but can be controlled or modified by the attacker.

Authentication Bypass by Capture-replay

A capture-replay flaw exists when the design of the product makes it possible for a malicious user to sniff network traffic and bypass authentication by replaying it t...

Authentication Bypass by Primary Weakness

The authentication algorithm is sound, but the implemented mechanism can be bypassed as the result of a separate weakness that is primary to the authentication error.

Authentication Bypass by Spoofing

This attack-focused weakness is caused by incorrectly implemented authentication schemes that are subject to spoofing attacks.

Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel

A product requires authentication, but the product has an alternate path or channel that does not require authentication.

Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key

The system's authorization functionality does not prevent one user from gaining access to another user's data or record by modifying the key value identifying the data.

Behavioral Change in New Version or Environment

A's behavior or functionality changes with a new version of A, or a new environment, which is not known (or manageable) by B.

Binding to an Unrestricted IP Address

The product assigns the address 0.0.0.0 for a database server, a cloud service/instance, or any computing resource that communicates remotely.

Buffer Access with Incorrect Length Value

The product uses a sequential operation to read or write a buffer, but it uses an incorrect length value that causes it to access memory that is outside of the bounds ...

Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')

The product copies an input buffer to an output buffer without verifying that the size of the input buffer is less than the size of the output buffer, leading to a buf...

Buffer Underwrite ('Buffer Underflow')

The product writes to a buffer using an index or pointer that references a memory location prior to the beginning of the buffer.

Callable with Insufficient Behavioral Summary

The code contains a function or method whose signature and/or associated inline documentation does not sufficiently describe the callable's inputs, outputs, ...

Class Instance Self Destruction Control Element

The code contains a class instance that calls the method or function to delete or destroy itself.

Class with Excessive Number of Child Classes

A class contains an unnecessarily large number of children.

Class with Excessively Deep Inheritance

A class has an inheritance level that is too high, i.e., it has a large number of parent classes.

Class with Virtual Method without a Virtual Destructor

A class contains a virtual method, but the method does not have an associated virtual destructor.

Cleartext Storage of Sensitive Information

The product stores sensitive information in cleartext within a resource that might be accessible to another control sphere.

Cleartext Transmission of Sensitive Information

The product transmits sensitive or security-critical data in cleartext in a communication channel that can be sniffed by unauthorized actors.

Collapse of Data into Unsafe Value

The product filters data in a way that causes it to be reduced or "collapsed" into an unsafe value that violates an expected security property.

Comparison of Incompatible Types

The product performs a comparison between two entities, but the entities are of different, incompatible types that cannot be guaranteed to provide correct results when...

Comparison Using Wrong Factors

The code performs a comparison between two entities, but the comparison examines the wrong factors or characteristics of the entities, which can lead to incorrect resu...

Compilation with Insufficient Warnings or Errors

The code is compiled without sufficient warnings enabled, which may prevent the detection of subtle bugs or quality issues.

Compiler Optimization Removal or Modification of Security-critical Code

The developer builds a security-critical protection mechanism into the software, but the compiler optimizes the program such that the mechanism is removed or modified.

Context Switching Race Condition

A product performs a series of non-atomic actions to switch between contexts that cross privilege or other security boundaries, but a race condition allows an attacker...

Covert Storage Channel

A covert storage channel transfers information through the setting of bits by one program and the reading of those bits by another. What distinguishes this case from t...

Covert Timing Channel

Covert timing channels convey information by modulating some aspect of system behavior over time, so that the program receiving the information can observe system beha...

CPU Hardware Not Configured to Support Exclusivity of Write and Execute Operations

The CPU is not configured to provide hardware support for exclusivity of write and execute operations on memory. This allows an attacker to execute data from all of me...

Creation of Class Instance within a Static Code Block

A static code block creates an instance of a class.

Creation of Immutable Text Using String Concatenation

The product creates an immutable text string using string concatenation operations.

Creation of Temporary File in Directory with Insecure Permissions

The product creates a temporary file in a directory whose permissions allow unintended actors to determine the file's existence or otherwise access that file.

Creation of Temporary File With Insecure Permissions

Opening temporary files without appropriate measures or controls can leave the file, its contents and any function that it impacts vulnerable to attack.

Critical Data Element Declared Public

The product declares a critical variable, field, or member to be public when intended security policy requires it to be private.

Cryptographic Operations are run Before Supporting Units are Ready

Performing cryptographic operations without ensuring that the supporting inputs are ready to supply valid data may compromise the cryptographic result.

Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations

The product uses a signal handler that shares state with other signal handlers, but it does not properly mask or prevent those signal handlers from being invoked while...

Dangling Database Cursor ('Cursor Injection')

If a database cursor is not closed properly, then it could become accessible to other users while retaining the same privileges that were originally assigned, leaving ...

Data Access from Outside Expected Data Manager Component

The product is intended to manage data access through a particular data manager component such as a relational or non-SQL database, but it contains code that performs ...

Data Access Operations Outside of Expected Data Manager Component

The product uses a dedicated, central data manager component as required by design, but it contains code that performs data-access operations that do not use this data...

Data Element Aggregating an Excessively Large Number of Non-Primitive Elements

The product uses a data element that has an excessively large number of sub-elements with non-primitive data types such as structures or aggregated objects.

Data Element containing Pointer Item without Proper Copy Control Element

The code contains a data element with a pointer that does not have an associated copy or constructor method.

Data Resource Access without Use of Connection Pooling

The product accesses a data resource through a database without using a connection pooling capability.

Dead Code

The product contains dead code, which can never be executed.

Deadlock

The product contains multiple threads or executable segments that are waiting for each other to release a necessary lock, resulting in deadlock.

Debug Messages Revealing Unnecessary Information

The product fails to adequately prevent the revealing of unnecessary and potentially sensitive system information within debugging messages.

Declaration of Catch for Generic Exception

Catching overly broad exceptions promotes complex error handling code that is more likely to contain security vulnerabilities.

Declaration of Throws for Generic Exception

Throwing overly broad exceptions promotes complex error handling code that is more likely to contain security vulnerabilities.

Declaration of Variable with Unnecessarily Wide Scope

The source code declares a variable in one scope, but the variable is only used within a narrower scope.

Deletion of Data Structure Sentinel

The accidental deletion of a data-structure sentinel can cause serious programming logic problems.

Deployment of Wrong Handler

The wrong "handler" is assigned to process an object.

Deserialization of Untrusted Data

The product deserializes untrusted data without sufficiently verifying that the resulting data will be valid.

Detection of Error Condition Without Action

The product detects a specific error, but takes no actions to handle the error.

Device Unlock Credential Sharing

The credentials necessary for unlocking a device are shared across multiple parties and may expose sensitive information.

Direct Request ('Forced Browsing')

The web application does not adequately enforce appropriate authorization on all restricted URLs, scripts, or files.

Divide By Zero

The product divides a value by zero.

DMA Device Enabled Too Early in Boot Phase

The product enables a Direct Memory Access (DMA) capable device before the security configuration settings are established, which allows an attacker to extract data fr...

Double-Checked Locking

The product uses double-checked locking to access a resource without the overhead of explicit synchronization, but the locking is insufficient.

Download of Code Without Integrity Check

The product downloads source code or an executable from a remote location and executes the code without sufficiently verifying the origin and integrity of the code.

Empty Code Block

The source code contains a block that does not contain any code, i.e., the block is empty.

Excessive Attack Surface

The product has an attack surface whose quantitative measurement exceeds a desirable maximum.

Excessive Data Query Operations in a Large Data Table

The product performs a data query with a large number of joins and sub-queries on a large data table.

Excessive Execution of Sequential Searches of Data Resource

The product contains a data query against an SQL table or view that is configured in a way that does not utilize an index and may cause sequential searches t...

Excessive Halstead Complexity

The code is structured in a way that a Halstead complexity measure exceeds a desirable maximum.

Excessive Index Range Scan for a Data Resource

The product contains an index range scan for a large data table, but the scan can cover a large number of rows.

Excessive McCabe Cyclomatic Complexity

The code contains McCabe cyclomatic complexity that exceeds a desirable maximum.

Excessive Number of Inefficient Server-Side Data Accesses

The product performs too many data queries without using efficient data processing functionality such as stored procedures.

Excessive Platform Resource Consumption within a Loop

The product has a loop body or loop condition that contains a control element that directly or indirectly consumes platform resources, e.g. messaging, sessions, l...

Excessive Reliance on Global Variables

The code is structured in a way that relies too much on using or setting global variables throughout various points in the code, instead of preserving the as...

Excessive Use of Hard-Coded Literals in Initialization

The product initializes a data element using a hard-coded literal that is not a simple integer or static constant element.

Excessive Use of Self-Modifying Code

The product uses too much self-modifying code.

Excessive Use of Unconditional Branching

The code uses too many unconditional branches (such as "goto").

Excessively Deep Nesting

The code contains a callable or other code grouping in which the nesting / branching is too deep.

Executable Regular Expression Error

The product uses a regular expression that either (1) contains an executable component with user-controlled inputs, or (2) allows a user to enable execution by inserti...

Execution After Redirect (EAR)

The web application sends a redirect to another location, but instead of exiting, it executes additional code.

Execution with Unnecessary Privileges

The product performs an operation at a privilege level that is higher than the minimum level required, which creates new weaknesses or amplifies the consequences of ot...

Expected Behavior Violation

A feature, API, or function does not perform according to its specification.

Expired Pointer Dereference

The product dereferences a pointer that contains a location for memory that was previously valid, but is no longer valid.

Explicit Call to Finalize()

The product makes an explicit call to the finalize() method from outside the finalizer.

Exposed Dangerous Method or Function

The product provides an Applications Programming Interface (API) or similar interface for interaction with external actors, but the interface includes a dangerous meth...

Exposure of Data Element to Wrong Session

The product does not sufficiently enforce boundaries between the states of different sessions, causing data to be provided to, or used by, the wrong session.

Exposure of File Descriptor to Unintended Control Sphere ('File Descriptor Leak')

A process does not close sensitive file descriptors before invoking a child process, which allows the child to perform unauthorized I/O operations using those descript...

Exposure of Private Personal Information to an Unauthorized Actor

The product does not properly prevent a person's private, personal information from being accessed by actors who either (1) are not explicitly authorized to access the...

Exposure of Sensitive Information Due to Incompatible Policies

The product's intended functionality exposes information to certain actors in accordance with the developer's security policy, but this information is regarded as sens...

Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Data Queries

When trying to keep information confidential, an attacker can often infer some of the information by using statistics.

Exposure of Sensitive Information Through Metadata

The product prevents direct access to a resource containing sensitive information, but it does not sufficiently limit access to metadata that is derived from the origi...

Exposure of Sensitive System Information Due to Uncleared Debug Information

The hardware does not fully clear security-sensitive values, such as keys and intermediate values in cryptographic operations, when debug mode is entered.

Exposure of Sensitive System Information to an Unauthorized Control Sphere

The product does not properly prevent sensitive system-level information from being accessed by unauthorized actors who do not have the same level of access to the und...

Expression is Always False

The product contains an expression that will always evaluate to false.

Expression is Always True

The product contains an expression that will always evaluate to true.

External Control of Assumed-Immutable Web Parameter

The web application does not sufficiently verify inputs that are assumed to be immutable but are actually externally controllable, such as hidden form fields.

External Control of File Name or Path

The product allows user input to control or influence paths or file names that are used in filesystem operations.

External Control of System or Configuration Setting

One or more system settings or configuration elements can be externally controlled by a user.

External Initialization of Trusted Variables or Data Stores

The product initializes critical internal variables or data stores using inputs that can be modified by untrusted actors.

Externally-Generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

The product performs an operation that triggers an external diagnostic or error message that is not directly generated or controlled by the product, such as an error g...

Fabric-Address Map Allows Programming of Unwarranted Overlaps of Protected and Unprotected Ranges

The address map of the on-chip fabric has protected and unprotected regions overlapping, allowing an attacker to bypass access control to the overlapping portion of th...

Failure to Disable Reserved Bits

The reserved bits in a hardware design are not disabled prior to production. Typically, reserved bits are used for future capabilities and should not support any funct...

Files or Directories Accessible to External Parties

The product makes files or directories accessible to unauthorized actors, even though they should not be.

Firmware Not Updateable

The product does not provide its users with the ability to update or patch its firmware to address any vulnerabilities or weaknesses that may be present.

Function Call with Incorrectly Specified Arguments

The product calls a function, procedure, or routine with arguments that are not correctly specified, leading to always-incorrect behavior and resultant weaknesses.

Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

The product generates an error message that includes sensitive information about its environment, users, or associated data.

Generation of Incorrect Security Tokens

The product implements a Security Token mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallowed when a transaction originates from an entity. However, the Se...

Generation of Weak Initialization Vector (IV)

The product uses a cryptographic primitive that uses an Initialization Vector (IV), but the product does not generate IVs that are sufficiently unpredictable or ...

Guessable CAPTCHA

The product uses a CAPTCHA challenge, but the challenge can be guessed or automatically recognized by a non-human actor.

Hardware Allows Activation of Test or Debug Logic at Runtime

During runtime, the hardware allows for test or debug logic (feature) to be activated, which allows for changing the state of the hardware. This feature can alter the ...

Hardware Child Block Incorrectly Connected to Parent System

Signals between a hardware IP and the parent system design are incorrectly connected causing security risks.

Hardware Internal or Debug Modes Allow Override of Locks

System configuration protection may be bypassed during debug mode.

Hardware Logic Contains Race Conditions

A race condition in the hardware logic results in undermining security guarantees of the system.

Hardware Logic with Insecure De-Synchronization between Control and Data Channels

The hardware logic for error handling and security checks can incorrectly forward data before the security check is complete.

Improper Access Control Applied to Mirrored or Aliased Memory Regions

Aliased or mirrored memory regions in hardware designs may have inconsistent read/write permissions enforced by the hardware. A possible result is that an untrusted ag...

Improper Access Control for Register Interface

The product uses memory-mapped I/O registers that act as an interface to hardware functionality from software, but there is improper access control to those registers.

Improper Access Control for Volatile Memory Containing Boot Code

The product conducts a secure-boot process that transfers bootloader code from Non-Volatile Memory (NVM) into Volatile Memory (VM), but it does not have sufficient acc...

Improper Access Control in Fabric Bridge

The product uses a fabric bridge for transactions between two Intellectual Property (IP) blocks, but the bridge does not properly perform the expected privilege, ident...

Improper Authorization in Handler for Custom URL Scheme

The product uses a handler for a custom URL scheme, but it does not properly restrict which actors can invoke the handler using the scheme.

Improper Authorization of Index Containing Sensitive Information

The product creates a search index of private or sensitive documents, but it does not properly limit index access to actors who are authorized to see the original info...

Improper Certificate Validation

The product does not validate, or incorrectly validates, a certificate.

Improper Check for Certificate Revocation

The product does not check or incorrectly checks the revocation status of a certificate, which may cause it to use a certificate that has been compromised.

Improper Check for Dropped Privileges

The product attempts to drop privileges but does not check or incorrectly checks to see if the drop succeeded.

Improper Cleanup on Thrown Exception

The product does not clean up its state or incorrectly cleans up its state when an exception is thrown, leading to unexpected state or control flow.

Improper Control of Dynamically-Identified Variables

The product does not properly restrict reading from or writing to dynamically-identified variables.

Improper Control of Generation of Code ('Code Injection')

The product constructs all or part of a code segment using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralize...

Improper Enforcement of a Single, Unique Action

The product requires that an actor should only be able to perform an action once, or to have only one unique action, but the product does not enforce or improperly enf...

Improper Enforcement of Behavioral Workflow

The product supports a session in which more than one behavior must be performed by an actor, but it does not properly ensure that the actor performs the behaviors in ...

Improper Enforcement of Message Integrity During Transmission in a Communication Channel

The product establishes a communication channel with an endpoint and receives a message from that endpoint, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the message was no...

Improper Finite State Machines (FSMs) in Hardware Logic

Faulty finite state machines (FSMs) in the hardware logic allow an attacker to put the system in an undefined state, to cause a denial of service (DoS) or gain privile...

Improper Following of a Certificate's Chain of Trust

The product does not follow, or incorrectly follows, the chain of trust for a certificate back to a trusted root certificate, resulting in incorrect trust of any resou...

Improper Handling of Additional Special Element

The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an additional unexpected special element is provided.

Improper Handling of Case Sensitivity

The product does not properly account for differences in case sensitivity when accessing or determining the properties of a resource, leading to inconsistent results.

Improper Handling of Faults that Lead to Instruction Skips

The device is missing or incorrectly implements circuitry or sensors that detect and mitigate the skipping of security-critical CPU instructions when they occur.

Improper Handling of File Names that Identify Virtual Resources

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles a file name that identifies a "virtual" resource that is not directly specified within the directory that is associa...

Improper Handling of Hardware Behavior in Exceptionally Cold Environments

A hardware device, or the firmware running on it, is missing or has incorrect protection features to maintain goals of security primiti...

Improper Handling of Highly Compressed Data (Data Amplification)

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles a compressed input with a very high compression ratio that produces a large output.

Improper Handling of Inconsistent Special Elements

The product does not properly handle input in which an inconsistency exists between two or more special characters or reserved words.

Improper Handling of Inconsistent Structural Elements

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when two or more structural elements should be consistent, but are not.

Improper Handling of Insufficient Permissions or Privileges

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to access resources or functionality as specified by their permissions. This may...

Improper Handling of Insufficient Privileges

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when it has insufficient privileges to perform an operation, leading to resultant weaknesses.

Improper Handling of Length Parameter Inconsistency

The product parses a formatted message or structure, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles a length field that is inconsistent with the actual length of the as...

Improper Handling of Missing Special Element

The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an expected special element is missing.

Improper Handling of Overlap Between Protected Memory Ranges

The product allows address regions to overlap, which can result in the bypassing of intended memory protection.

Improper Handling of Parameters

The product does not properly handle when the expected number of parameters, fields, or arguments is not provided in input, or if those parameters are undefined.

Improper Handling of Single Event Upsets

The hardware logic does not effectively handle when single-event upsets (SEUs) occur.

Improper Handling of Structural Elements

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles inputs that are related to complex structures.

Improper Handling of Unexpected Data Type

The product does not handle or incorrectly handles when a particular element is not the expected type, e.g. it expects a digit (0-9) but is provided with a letter (A-Z).

Improper Handling of Values

The product does not properly handle when the expected number of values for parameters, fields, or arguments is not provided in input, or if those values are undefined.

Improper Isolation of Shared Resources in Network On Chip (NoC)

The Network On Chip (NoC) does not isolate or incorrectly isolates its on-chip-fabric and internal resources such that they are shared between trusted and untrusted ag...

Improper Isolation of Shared Resources on System-on-a-Chip (SoC)

The System-On-a-Chip (SoC) does not properly isolate shared resources between trusted and untrusted agents.

Improper Isolation or Compartmentalization

The product does not properly compartmentalize or isolate functionality, processes, or resources that require different privilege levels, rights, or permissions.

Improper Limitation of a Pathname to a Restricted Directory ('Path Traversal')

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that is intended to identify a file or directory that is located underneath a restricted parent directory, but ...

Improper Link Resolution Before File Access ('Link Following')

The product attempts to access a file based on the filename, but it does not properly prevent that filename from identifying a link or shortcut that resolves to an uni...

Improper Lock Behavior After Power State Transition

Register lock bit protection disables changes to system configuration once the bit is set. Some of the protected registers or lock bits become programmable after power...

Improper Management of Sensitive Trace Data

Trace data collected from several sources on the System-on-Chip (SoC) is stored in unprotected locations or transported to untrusted ag...

Improper Neutralization of Argument Delimiters in a Command ('Argument Injection')

The product constructs a string for a command to be executed by a separate component in another control sphere, but it does not properly delimit the intended arguments...

Improper Neutralization of CRLF Sequences ('CRLF Injection')

The product uses CRLF (carriage return line feeds) as a special element, e.g. to separate lines or records, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes CRLF ...

Improper Neutralization of Data within XPath Expressions ('XPath Injection')

The product uses external input to dynamically construct an XPath expression used to retrieve data from an XML database, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neut...

Improper Neutralization of Data within XQuery Expressions ('XQuery Injection')

The product uses external input to dynamically construct an XQuery expression used to retrieve data from an XML database, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neu...

Improper Neutralization of Delimiters

The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes delimiters.

Improper Neutralization of Directives in Statically Saved Code ('Static Code Injection')

The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes code syntax before inserting the input into an executable ...

Improper Neutralization of Equivalent Special Elements

The product correctly neutralizes certain special elements, but it improperly neutralizes equivalent special elements.

Improper Neutralization of Formula Elements in a CSV File

The product saves user-provided information into a Comma-Separated Value (CSV) file, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could ...

Improper Neutralization of Input During Web Page Generation ('Cross-site Scripting')

The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes user-controllable input before it is placed in output that is used as a web page that is served to other users.

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements Used in a Template Engine

The product uses a template engine to insert or process externally-influenced input, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements or syntax t...

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')

The product constructs all or part of an expression language (EL) statement in a framework such as a Java Server Page (JSP) using externally-influenced input from an u...

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an LDAP Query ('LDAP Injection')

The product constructs all or part of an LDAP query using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes...

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an OS Command ('OS Command Injection')

The product constructs all or part of an OS command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes...

Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an SQL Command ('SQL Injection')

The product constructs all or part of an SQL command using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralize...

Improper Null Termination

The product does not terminate or incorrectly terminates a string or array with a null character or equivalent terminator.

Improper Output Neutralization for Logs

The product does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes output that is written to logs.

Improper Preservation of Consistency Between Independent Representations of Shared State

The product has or supports multiple distributed components or sub-systems that are each required to keep their own local copy of shared data - such as state or cache ...

Improper Preservation of Permissions

The product does not preserve permissions or incorrectly preserves permissions when copying, restoring, or sharing objects, which can cause them to have less restricti...

Improper Prevention of Lock Bit Modification

The product uses a trusted lock bit for restricting access to registers, address regions, or other resources, but the product does not prevent the value of the lock bi...

Improper Protection against Electromagnetic Fault Injection (EM-FI)

The device is susceptible to electromagnetic fault injection attacks, causing device internal information to be compromised or security mechanisms to be bypassed.

Improper Protection Against Voltage and Clock Glitches

The device does not contain or contains incorrectly implemented circuitry or sensors to detect and mitigate voltage and clock glitches and protect sensitive informatio...

Improper Protection for Outbound Error Messages and Alert Signals

Untrusted agents can disable alerts about signal conditions exceeding limits or the response mechanism that handles such alerts.

Improper Protections Against Hardware Overheating

A hardware device is missing or has inadequate protection features to prevent overheating.

Improper Removal of Sensitive Information Before Storage or Transfer

The product stores, transfers, or shares a resource that contains sensitive information, but it does not properly remove that information before the product makes the ...

Improper Resolution of Path Equivalence

The product is vulnerable to file system contents disclosure through path equivalence. Path equivalence involves the use of special characters in file and directory na...

Improper Resource Locking

The product does not lock or does not correctly lock a resource when the product must have exclusive access to the resource.

Improper Restriction of Excessive Authentication Attempts

The product does not implement sufficient measures to prevent multiple failed authentication attempts within a short time frame, making it more susceptible to brute fo...

Improper Restriction of Names for Files and Other Resources

The product constructs the name of a file or other resource using input from an upstream component, but it does not restrict or incorrectly restricts the resulting name.

Improper Restriction of Power Consumption

The product operates in an environment in which power is a limited resource that cannot be automatically replenished, but the product does not properly restrict the am...

Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

The product uses XML documents and allows their structure to be defined with a Document Type Definition (DTD), but it does not properly control the number of recursive...

Improper Restriction of Rendered UI Layers or Frames

The web application does not restrict or incorrectly restricts frame objects or UI layers that belong to another application or domain, which can lead to user confusio...

Improper Restriction of Security Token Assignment

The System-On-A-Chip (SoC) implements a Security Token mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallowed when a transaction originates from an entity. ...

Improper Restriction of Software Interfaces to Hardware Features

The product provides software-controllable device functionality for capabilities such as power and clock management, but it does not properly limit functional...

Improper Restriction of Write-Once Bit Fields

The hardware design control register "sticky bits" or write-once bit fields are improperly implemented, such that they can be reprogrammed by software.

Improper Restriction of XML External Entity Reference

The product processes an XML document that can contain XML entities with URIs that resolve to documents outside of the intended sphere of control, causing the product ...

Improper Scrubbing of Sensitive Data from Decommissioned Device

The product does not properly provide a capability for the product administrator to remove sensitive data at the time the product is decommissioned. A scrubbing capab...

Improper Setting of Bus Controlling Capability in Fabric End-point

The bus controller enables bits in the fabric end-point to allow responder devices to control transactions on the fabric.

Improper Translation of Security Attributes by Fabric Bridge

The bridge incorrectly translates security attributes from either trusted to untrusted or from untrusted to trusted when converting from one fabric protocol to another.

Improper Update of Reference Count

The product uses a reference count to manage a resource, but it does not update or incorrectly updates the reference count.

Improper Use of Validation Framework

The product does not use, or incorrectly uses, an input validation framework that is provided by the source language or an independent library.

Improper Validation of Consistency within Input

The product receives a complex input with multiple elements or fields that must be consistent with each other, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that t...

Improper Validation of Integrity Check Value

The product does not validate or incorrectly validates the integrity check values or "checksums" of a message. This may prevent it from detecting if the data has been ...

Improper Validation of Specified Index, Position, or Offset in Input

The product receives input that is expected to specify an index, position, or offset into an indexable resource such as a buffer or file, but it does not validate or i...

Improper Validation of Specified Quantity in Input

The product receives input that is expected to specify a quantity (such as size or length), but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the quantity has the...

Improper Validation of Specified Type of Input

The product receives input that is expected to be of a certain type, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input is actually of the expected type.

Improper Validation of Syntactic Correctness of Input

The product receives input that is expected to be well-formed - i.e., to comply with a certain syntax - but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the inpu...

Improper Validation of Unsafe Equivalence in Input

The product receives an input value that is used as a resource identifier or other type of reference, but it does not validate or incorrectly validates that the input ...

Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature

The product does not verify, or incorrectly verifies, the cryptographic signature for data.

Improper Verification of Source of a Communication Channel

The product establishes a communication channel to handle an incoming request that has been initiated by an actor, but it does not properly verify that the request is ...

Improper Write Handling in Limited-write Non-Volatile Memories

The product does not implement or incorrectly implements wear leveling operations in limited-write non-volatile memories.

Improperly Controlled Modification of Dynamically-Determined Object Attributes

The product receives input from an upstream component that specifies multiple attributes, properties, or fields that are to be initialized or updated in an object, but...

Improperly Controlled Sequential Memory Allocation

The product manages a group of objects or resources and performs a separate memory allocation for each object, but it does not properly limit the total amount of memor...

Improperly Implemented Security Check for Standard

The product does not implement or incorrectly implements one or more security-relevant checks as specified by the design of a standardized algorithm, protocol, or tech...

Improperly Preserved Integrity of Hardware Configuration State During a Power Save/Restore Operation

The product performs a power save/restore operation, but it does not ensure that the integrity of the configuration state is maintained and/or ...

Inaccurate Comments

The source code contains comments that do not accurately describe or explain aspects of the portion of the code with which the comment is associated.

Inappropriate Comment Style

The source code uses comment styles or formats that are inconsistent or do not follow expected standards for the product.

Inappropriate Encoding for Output Context

The product uses or specifies an encoding when generating output to a downstream component, but the specified encoding is not the same as the encoding that is expected...

Inappropriate Whitespace Style

The source code contains whitespace that is inconsistent across the code or does not follow expected standards for the product.

Inclusion of Functionality from Untrusted Control Sphere

The product imports, requires, or includes executable functionality (such as a library) from a source that is outside of the intended control sphere.

Inclusion of Sensitive Information in Source Code

Source code on a web server or repository often contains sensitive information and should generally not be accessible to users.

Inclusion of Undocumented Features or Chicken Bits

The device includes chicken bits or undocumented features that can create entry points for unauthorized actors.

Incomplete Cleanup

The product does not properly "clean up" and remove temporary or supporting resources after they have been used.

Incomplete Design Documentation

The product's design documentation does not adequately describe control flow, data flow, system initialization, relationships between tasks, components, rati...

Incomplete Documentation of Program Execution

The document does not fully define all mechanisms that are used to control or influence how product-specific programs are executed.

Incomplete Filtering of Special Elements

The product receives data from an upstream component, but does not completely filter special elements before sending it to a downstream component.

Incomplete I/O Documentation

The product's documentation does not adequately define inputs, outputs, or system/software interfaces.

Incomplete Internal State Distinction

The product does not properly determine which state it is in, causing it to assume it is in state X when in fact it is in state Y, causing it to perform incorrect oper...

Incomplete List of Disallowed Inputs

The product implements a protection mechanism that relies on a list of inputs (or properties of inputs) that are not allowed by policy or otherwise require other actio...

Incomplete Model of Endpoint Features

A product acts as an intermediary or monitor between two or more endpoints, but it does not have a complete model of an endpoint's features, behaviors, or state, poten...

Inconsistency Between Implementation and Documented Design

The implementation of the product is not consistent with the design as described within the relevant documentation.

Inconsistent Interpretation of HTTP Requests ('HTTP Request/Response Smuggling')

The product acts as an intermediary HTTP agent (such as a proxy or firewall) in the data flow between two entities such as a client and server, but i...

Inconsistent Naming Conventions for Identifiers

The product's code, documentation, or other artifacts do not consistently use the same naming conventions for variables, callables, groups of related callabl...

Incorrect Behavior Order: Authorization Before Parsing and Canonicalization

If a web server does not fully parse requested URLs before it examines them for authorization, it may be possible for an attacker to bypass authorization protection.

Incorrect Behavior Order: Early Amplification

The product allows an entity to perform a legitimate but expensive operation before authentication or authorization has taken place.

Incorrect Behavior Order: Early Validation

The product validates input before applying protection mechanisms that modify the input, which could allow an attacker to bypass the validation via dangerous inputs th...

Incorrect Bitwise Shift of Integer

An integer value is specified to be shifted by a negative amount or an amount greater than or equal to the number of bits contained in the value causing an unexpected ...

Incorrect Block Delimitation

The code does not explicitly delimit a block that is intended to contain 2 or more statements, creating a logic error.

Incorrect Calculation of Buffer Size

The product does not correctly calculate the size to be used when allocating a buffer, which could lead to a buffer overflow.

Incorrect Calculation of Multi-Byte String Length

The product does not correctly calculate the length of strings that can contain wide or multi-byte characters.

Incorrect Chaining or Granularity of Debug Components

The product's debug components contain incorrect chaining or granularity of debug components.

Incorrect Check of Function Return Value

The product incorrectly checks a return value from a function, which prevents it from detecting errors or exceptional conditions.

Incorrect Comparison Logic Granularity

The product's comparison logic is performed over a series of steps rather than across the entire string in one operation. If there is a comparison logic failure on one...

Incorrect Conversion between Numeric Types

When converting from one data type to another, such as long to integer, data can be omitted or translated in a way that produces unexpected values. If the resulting va...

Incorrect Conversion of Security Identifiers

The product implements a conversion mechanism to map certain bus-transaction signals to security identifiers. However, if the conversion is incorrectly implemented, un...

Incorrect Decoding of Security Identifiers

The product implements a decoding mechanism to decode certain bus-transaction signals to security identifiers. If the decoding is implemented incorrectly, then untrust...

Incorrect Default Permissions

During installation, installed file permissions are set to allow anyone to modify those files.

Incorrect Implementation of Authentication Algorithm

The requirements for the product dictate the use of an established authentication algorithm, but the implementation of the algorithm is incorrect.

Incorrect Ownership Assignment

The product assigns an owner to a resource, but the owner is outside of the intended control sphere.

Incorrect Parsing of Numbers with Different Radices

The product parses numeric input assuming base 10 (decimal) values, but it does not account for inputs that use a different base number (radix).

Incorrect Pointer Scaling

In C and C++, one may often accidentally refer to the wrong memory due to the semantics of when math operations are implicitly scaled.

Incorrect Privilege Assignment

A product incorrectly assigns a privilege to a particular actor, creating an unintended sphere of control for that actor.

Incorrect Register Defaults or Module Parameters

Hardware description language code incorrectly defines register defaults or hardware IP parameters to insecure values.

Incorrect Selection of Fuse Values

The logic level used to set a system to a secure state relies on a fuse being unblown. An attacker can set the system to an insecure state merely by blowing the fuse.

Incorrect Synchronization

The product utilizes a shared resource in a concurrent manner, but it does not correctly synchronize access to the resource.

Incorrect Usage of Seeds in Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG)

The product uses a Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) but does not correctly manage seeds.

Incorrect Use of Autoboxing and Unboxing for Performance Critical Operations

The code uses boxed primitives, which may introduce inefficiencies into performance-critical operations.

Incorrect Use of Privileged APIs

The product does not conform to the API requirements for a function call that requires extra privileges. This could allow attackers to gain privileges by causing the f...

Incorrectly Specified Destination in a Communication Channel

The product creates a communication channel to initiate an outgoing request to an actor, but it does not correctly specify the intended destination for that actor.

Inefficient Regular Expression Complexity

The product uses a regular expression with an inefficient, possibly exponential worst-case computational complexity that consumes excessive CPU cycles.

Information Exposure through Microarchitectural State after Transient Execution

The processor does not properly clear microarchitectural state after incorrect microcode assists or speculative execution, resulting in transient execution.

Initialization with Hard-Coded Network Resource Configuration Data

The product initializes data using hard-coded values that act as network resource identifiers.

Insecure Default Initialization of Resource

The product initializes or sets a resource with a default that is intended to be changed by the administrator, but the default is not secure.

Insecure Operation on Windows Junction / Mount Point

The product opens a file or directory, but it does not properly prevent the name from being associated with a junction or mount point to a destination that is outside ...

Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Debugging Code

The product inserts sensitive information into debugging code, which could expose this information if the debugging code is not disabled in production.

Insertion of Sensitive Information into Externally-Accessible File or Directory

The product places sensitive information into files or directories that are accessible to actors who are allowed to have access to the files, but not to the sensitive ...

Insertion of Sensitive Information into Log File

Information written to log files can be of a sensitive nature and give valuable guidance to an attacker or expose sensitive user information.

Insertion of Sensitive Information Into Sent Data

The code transmits data to another actor, but a portion of the data includes sensitive information that should not be accessible to that actor.

Insufficient Documentation of Error Handling Techniques

The documentation does not sufficiently describe the techniques that are used for error handling, exception processing, or similar mechanisms.

Insufficient Encapsulation of Machine-Dependent Functionality

The product or code uses machine-dependent functionality, but it does not sufficiently encapsulate or isolate this functionality from the rest of the code.

Insufficient Entropy

The product uses an algorithm or scheme that produces insufficient entropy, leaving patterns or clusters of values that are more likely to occur than others.

Insufficient Granularity of Access Control

The product implements access controls via a policy or other feature with the intention to disable or restrict accesses (reads and/or writes) to assets in a system fro...

Insufficient Isolation of Symbolic Constant Definitions

The source code uses symbolic constants, but it does not sufficiently place the definitions of these constants into a more centralized or isolated location.

Insufficient Isolation of System-Dependent Functions

The product or code does not isolate system-dependent functionality into separate standalone modules.

Insufficient Logging

When a security-critical event occurs, the product either does not record the event or omits important details about the event when logging it.

Insufficient or Incomplete Data Removal within Hardware Component

The product's data removal process does not completely delete all data and potentially sensitive information within hardware components.

Insufficient Precision or Accuracy of a Real Number

The product processes a real number with an implementation in which the number's representation does not preserve required accuracy and precision in its fractional par...

Insufficient Resource Pool

The product's resource pool is not large enough to handle peak demand, which allows an attacker to prevent others from accessing the resource by using a (relatively) l...

Insufficient Session Expiration

According to WASC, "Insufficient Session Expiration is when a web site permits an attacker to reuse old session credentials or session IDs for authorization."

Insufficient Type Distinction

The product does not properly distinguish between different types of elements in a way that leads to insecure behavior.

Insufficient UI Warning of Dangerous Operations

The user interface provides a warning to a user regarding dangerous or sensitive operations, but the warning is not noticeable enough to warrant attention.

Insufficient Use of Symbolic Constants

The source code uses literal constants that may need to change or evolve over time, instead of using symbolic constants.

Insufficient Visual Distinction of Homoglyphs Presented to User

The product displays information or identifiers to a user, but the display mechanism does not make it easy for the user to distinguish between visually similar or iden...

Integer Overflow or Wraparound

The product performs a calculation that can produce an integer overflow or wraparound, when the logic assumes that the resulting value will always be larger than the o...

Integer Underflow (Wrap or Wraparound)

The product subtracts one value from another, such that the result is less than the minimum allowable integer value, which produces a value that is not equal to the co...

Internal Asset Exposed to Unsafe Debug Access Level or State

The product uses physical debug or test interfaces with support for multiple access levels, but it assigns the wrong debug access level to an internal ...

Invocation of a Control Element at an Unnecessarily Deep Horizontal Layer

The code at one architectural layer invokes code that resides at a deeper layer than the adjacent layer, i.e., the invocation skips at least one layer, and t...

Invocation of Process Using Visible Sensitive Information

A process is invoked with sensitive command-line arguments, environment variables, or other elements that can be seen by other processes on the operating system.

Invokable Control Element in Multi-Thread Context with non-Final Static Storable or Member Element

The code contains a function or method that operates in a multi-threaded environment but owns an unsafe non-final static storable or member d...

Invokable Control Element with Excessive File or Data Access Operations

A function or method contains too many operations that utilize a data manager or file resource.

Invokable Control Element with Excessive Volume of Commented-out Code

A function, method, procedure, etc. contains an excessive amount of code that has been commented out within its body.

Invokable Control Element with Large Number of Outward Calls

The code contains callable control elements that contain an excessively large number of references to other application objects external to the conte...

Invokable Control Element with Signature Containing an Excessive Number of Parameters

The product contains a function, subroutine, or method whose signature has an unnecessarily large number of parameters/arguments.

Invokable Control Element with Variadic Parameters

A named-callable or method control element has a signature that supports a variable (variadic) number of parameters or arguments.

Key Exchange without Entity Authentication

The product performs a key exchange with an actor without verifying the identity of that actor.

Large Data Table with Excessive Number of Indices

The product uses a large data table that contains an excessively large number of indices.

Least Privilege Violation

The elevated privilege level required to perform operations such as chroot() should be dropped immediately after the operation is performed.

Logging of Excessive Data

The product logs too much information, making log files hard to process and possibly hindering recovery efforts or forensic analysis after an attack.

Logic/Time Bomb

The product contains code that is designed to disrupt the legitimate operation of the product (or its environment) when a certain time passes, or when a certain logica...

Loop Condition Value Update within the Loop

The product uses a loop with a control flow condition based on a value that is updated within the body of the loop.

Loop with Unreachable Exit Condition ('Infinite Loop')

The product contains an iteration or loop with an exit condition that cannot be reached, i.e., an infinite loop.

Method Containing Access of a Member Element from Another Class

A method for a class performs an operation that directly accesses a member element from another class.

Mirrored Regions with Different Values

The product's architecture mirrors regions without ensuring that their contents always stay in sync.

Misinterpretation of Input

The product misinterprets an input, whether from an attacker or another product, in a security-relevant fashion.

Missing Ability to Patch ROM Code

Missing an ability to patch ROM code may leave a System or System-on-Chip (SoC) in a vulnerable state.

Missing Authentication for Critical Function

The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.

Missing Critical Step in Authentication

The product implements an authentication technique, but it skips a step that weakens the technique.

Missing Cryptographic Step

The product does not implement a required step in a cryptographic algorithm, resulting in weaker encryption than advertised by the algorithm.

Missing Custom Error Page

The product does not return custom error pages to the user, possibly exposing sensitive information.

Missing Default Case in Multiple Condition Expression

The code does not have a default case in an expression with multiple conditions, such as a switch statement.

Missing Documentation for Design

The product does not have documentation that represents how it is designed.

Missing Handler

A handler is not available or implemented.

Missing Immutable Root of Trust in Hardware

A missing immutable root of trust in the hardware results in the ability to bypass secure boot or execute untrusted or adversarial boot code.

Missing Initialization of Resource

The product does not initialize a critical resource.

Missing Lock Check

A product does not check to see if a lock is present before performing sensitive operations on a resource.

Missing Password Field Masking

The product does not mask passwords during entry, increasing the potential for attackers to observe and capture passwords.

Missing Protection Against Hardware Reverse Engineering Using Integrated Circuit (IC) Imaging Techniques

Information stored in hardware may be recovered by an attacker with the capability to capture and analyze images of the integrated circuit using techniques such as sca...

Missing Protection for Mirrored Regions in On-Chip Fabric Firewall

The firewall in an on-chip fabric protects the main addressed region, but it does not protect any mirrored memory or memory-mapped-IO (MMIO) regions.

Missing Protection Mechanism for Alternate Hardware Interface

The lack of protections on alternate paths to access control-protected assets (such as unprotected shadow registers and other external ...

Missing Reference to Active Allocated Resource

The product does not properly maintain a reference to a resource that has been allocated, which prevents the resource from being reclaimed.

Missing Release of Resource after Effective Lifetime

The product does not release a resource after its effective lifetime has ended, i.e., after the resource is no longer needed.

Missing Report of Error Condition

The product encounters an error but does not provide a status code or return value to indicate that an error has occurred.

Missing Security Identifier

The product implements a security identifier mechanism to differentiate what actions are allowed or disallowed when a transaction originates from an entity. A transact...

Missing Serialization Control Element

The product contains a serializable data element that does not have an associated serialization method.

Missing Source Correlation of Multiple Independent Data

The product relies on one source of data, preventing the ability to detect if an adversary has compromised a data source.

Missing Standardized Error Handling Mechanism

The product does not use a standardized method for handling errors throughout the code, which might introduce inconsistent error handling and resultant weaknesses.

Missing Support for Integrity Check

The product uses a transmission protocol that does not include a mechanism for verifying the integrity of the data during transmission, such as a checksum.

Missing Support for Security Features in On-chip Fabrics or Buses

On-chip fabrics or buses either do not support or are not configured to support privilege separation or other security features, such as access control.

Missing Synchronization

The product utilizes a shared resource in a concurrent manner but does not attempt to synchronize access to the resource.

Missing Write Protection for Parametric Data Values

The device does not write-protect the parametric data values for sensors that scale the sensor value, allowing untrusted software to manipulate the apparent result and...

Missing XML Validation

The product accepts XML from an untrusted source but does not validate the XML against the proper schema.

Modification of Assumed-Immutable Data (MAID)

The product does not properly protect an assumed-immutable element from being modified by an attacker.

Modules with Circular Dependencies

The product contains modules in which one module has references that cycle back to itself, i.e., there are circular dependencies.

Multiple Binds to the Same Port

When multiple sockets are allowed to bind to the same port, other services on that port may be stolen or spoofed.

Multiple Inheritance from Concrete Classes

The product contains a class with inheritance from more than one concrete class.

Multiple Interpretations of UI Input

The UI has multiple interpretations of user input but does not prompt the user when it selects the less secure interpretation.

Multiple Locks of a Critical Resource

The product locks a critical resource more times than intended, leading to an unexpected state in the system.

Multiple Releases of Same Resource or Handle

The product attempts to close or release a resource or handle more than once, without any successful open between the close operations.

Multiple Unlocks of a Critical Resource

The product unlocks a critical resource more times than intended, leading to an unexpected state in the system.

Mutable Attestation or Measurement Reporting Data

The register contents used for attestation or measurement reporting data to verify boot flow are modifiable by an adversary.

Non-exit on Failed Initialization

The product does not exit or otherwise modify its operation when security-relevant errors occur during initialization, such as when a configuration file has a format e...

Non-Replicating Malicious Code

Non-replicating malicious code only resides on the target system or product that is attacked; it does not attempt to spread to other systems.

Non-SQL Invokable Control Element with Excessive Number of Data Resource Accesses

The product contains a client with a function or method that contains a large number of data accesses/queries that are sent through a data manager, i.e., does not use ...

Non-Transparent Sharing of Microarchitectural Resources

Hardware structures shared across execution contexts (e.g., caches and branch predictors) can violate the expected architecture isolation between contexts.

Not Using Password Aging

The product does not have a mechanism in place for managing password aging.

NULL Pointer Dereference

A NULL pointer dereference occurs when the application dereferences a pointer that it expects to be valid, but is NULL, typically causing a crash or exit.

Numeric Range Comparison Without Minimum Check

The product checks a value to ensure that it is less than or equal to a maximum, but it does not also verify that the value is greater than or equal to the minimum.

Numeric Truncation Error

Truncation errors occur when a primitive is cast to a primitive of a smaller size and data is lost in the conversion.

Object Model Violation: Just One of Equals and Hashcode Defined

The product does not maintain equal hashcodes for equal objects.

Obscured Security-relevant Information by Alternate Name

The product records security-relevant information according to an alternate name of the affected entity, instead of the canonical name.

Observable Behavioral Discrepancy

The product's behaviors indicate important differences that may be observed by unauthorized actors in a way that reveals (1) its internal state or decision process, or...

Observable Discrepancy

The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor, which exposes security...

Observable Response Discrepancy

The product provides different responses to incoming requests in a way that reveals internal state information to an unauthorized actor outside of the intended control...

Observable Timing Discrepancy

Two separate operations in a product require different amounts of time to complete, in a way that is observable to an actor and reveals security-relevant information a...

Obsolete Feature in UI

A UI function is obsolete and the product does not warn the user.

Off-by-one Error

A product calculates or uses an incorrect maximum or minimum value that is 1 more, or 1 less, than the correct value.

Omission of Security-relevant Information

The product does not record or display information that would be important for identifying the source or nature of an attack, or determining if an action is safe.

Omitted Break Statement in Switch

The product omits a break statement within a switch or similar construct, causing code associated with multiple conditions to execute. This can cause problems when the...

On-Chip Debug and Test Interface With Improper Access Control

The chip does not implement or does not correctly perform access control to check whether users are authorized to access internal registers and test modes through the ...

Only Filtering Special Elements at a Specified Location

The product receives data from an upstream component, but only accounts for special elements at a specified location, thereby missing remaining special elements that m...

Operator Precedence Logic Error

The product uses an expression in which operator precedence causes incorrect logic to be used.

Out-of-bounds Read

The product reads data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Out-of-bounds Write

The product writes data past the end, or before the beginning, of the intended buffer.

Overly Restrictive Account Lockout Mechanism

The product contains an account lockout protection mechanism, but the mechanism is too restrictive and can be triggered too easily, which allows attackers to deny serv...

Overly Restrictive Regular Expression

A regular expression is overly restrictive, which prevents dangerous values from being detected.

Parent Class with a Virtual Destructor and a Child Class without a Virtual Destructor

A parent class has a virtual destructor method, but the parent has a child class that does not have a virtual destructor.

Parent Class with References to Child Class

The code has a parent class that contains references to a child class, its methods, or its members.

Parent Class without Virtual Destructor Method

A parent class contains one or more child classes, but the parent class does not have a virtual destructor method.

Passing Mutable Objects to an Untrusted Method

The product sends non-cloned mutable data as an argument to a method or function.

Password Aging with Long Expiration

The product supports password aging, but the expiration period is too long.

Password in Configuration File

The product stores a password in a configuration file that might be accessible to actors who do not know the password.

Permissive List of Allowed Inputs

The product implements a protection mechanism that relies on a list of inputs (or properties of inputs) that are explicitly allowed by policy because the inputs are as...

Permissive Regular Expression

The product uses a regular expression that does not sufficiently restrict the set of allowed values.

Persistent Storable Data Element without Associated Comparison Control Element

The product uses a storable data element that does not have all of the associated functions or methods that are necessary to support comparison.

Placement of User into Incorrect Group

The product or the administrator places a user into an incorrect group.

Plaintext Storage of a Password

Storing a password in plaintext may result in a system compromise.

Policy Privileges are not Assigned Consistently Between Control and Data Agents

The product's hardware-enforced access control for a particular resource improperly accounts for privilege discrepancies between control and write policies.

Policy Uses Obsolete Encoding

The product uses an obsolete encoding mechanism to implement access controls.

Power-On of Untrusted Execution Core Before Enabling Fabric Access Control

The product enables components that contain untrusted firmware before memory and fabric access controls have been enabled.

Predictable Exact Value from Previous Values

An exact value or random number can be precisely predicted by observing previous values.

Predictable from Observable State

A number or object is predictable based on observations that the attacker can make about the state of the system or network, such as time, process ID, etc.

Predictable Value Range from Previous Values

The product's random number generator produces a series of values which, when observed, can be used to infer a relatively small range of possibilities for the next val...

Premature Release of Resource During Expected Lifetime

The product releases a resource that is still intended to be used by itself or another actor.

Privilege Chaining

Two distinct privileges, roles, capabilities, or rights can be combined in a way that allows an entity to perform unsafe actions that would not be allowed without that...

Privilege Context Switching Error

The product does not properly manage privileges while it is switching between different contexts that have different privileges or spheres of control.

Privilege Defined With Unsafe Actions

A particular privilege, role, capability, or right can be used to perform unsafe actions that were not intended, even when it is assigned to the correct entity.

Processor Optimization Removal or Modification of Security-critical Code

The developer builds a security-critical protection mechanism into the software, but the processor optimizes the execution of the program such that the mechanism is re...

Product Released in Non-Release Configuration

The product released to market is released in pre-production or manufacturing configuration.

Product UI does not Warn User of Unsafe Actions

The product's user interface does not warn the user before undertaking an unsafe action on behalf of that user. This makes it easier for attackers to trick users into ...

Public Key Re-Use for Signing both Debug and Production Code

The same public key is used for signing both debug and production code.

Race Condition During Access to Alternate Channel

The product opens an alternate channel to communicate with an authorized user, but the channel is accessible to other actors.

Race Condition Enabling Link Following

The product checks the status of a file or directory before accessing it, which produces a race condition in which the file can be replaced with a link before the acce...

Race Condition for Write-Once Attributes

A write-once register in hardware design is programmable by an untrusted software component earlier than the trusted software component, resulting in a race condition ...

Race Condition within a Thread

If two threads of execution use a resource simultaneously, there exists the possibility that resources may be used while invalid, in turn making the state of execution...

Reachable Assertion

The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe th...

Reflection Attack in an Authentication Protocol

Simple authentication protocols are subject to reflection attacks if a malicious user can use the target machine to impersonate a trusted user.

Relative Path Traversal

The product uses external input to construct a pathname that should be within a restricted directory, but it does not properly neutralize sequences such as ".." that c...

Release of Invalid Pointer or Reference

The product attempts to return a memory resource to the system, but it calls the wrong release function or calls the appropriate release function incorrectly.

Reliance on a Single Factor in a Security Decision

A protection mechanism relies exclusively, or to a large extent, on the evaluation of a single condition or the integrity of a single object or entity in order to make...

Reliance on Component That is Not Updateable

The product contains a component that cannot be updated or patched in order to remove vulnerabilities or significant bugs.

Reliance on Cookies without Validation and Integrity Checking

The product relies on the existence or values of cookies when performing security-critical operations, but it does not properly ensure that the setting is valid for th...

Reliance on Data/Memory Layout

The product makes invalid assumptions about how protocol data or memory is organized at a lower level, resulting in unintended program behavior.

Reliance on Machine-Dependent Data Representation

The code uses a data representation that relies on low-level data representation or constructs that may vary across different processors, physical machines, ...

Reliance on Obfuscation or Encryption of Security-Relevant Inputs without Integrity Checking

The product uses obfuscation or encryption of inputs that should not be mutable by an external actor, but the product does not use integrity checks to detect if those ...

Reliance on Package-level Scope

Java packages are not inherently closed; therefore, relying on them for code security is not a good practice.

Reliance on Runtime Component in Generated Code

The product uses automatically-generated code that cannot be executed without a specific runtime support component.

Reliance on Untrusted Inputs in a Security Decision

The product uses a protection mechanism that relies on the existence or values of an input, but the input can be modified by an untrusted actor in a way that bypasses ...

Replicating Malicious Code (Virus or Worm)

Replicating malicious code, including viruses and worms, will attempt to attack other systems once it has successfully compromised the target system or the product.

Return Inside Finally Block

The code has a return statement inside a finally block, which will cause any thrown exception in the try block to be discarded.

Return of Pointer Value Outside of Expected Range

A function can return a pointer to memory that is outside of the buffer that the pointer is expected to reference.

Return of Stack Variable Address

A function returns the address of a stack variable, which will cause unintended program behavior, typically in the form of a crash.

Return of Wrong Status Code

A function or operation returns an incorrect return value or status code that does not indicate an error, but causes the product to modify its behavior based on the in...

Returning a Mutable Object to an Untrusted Caller

Sending non-cloned mutable data as a return value may result in that data being altered or deleted by the calling function.

Reusing a Nonce, Key Pair in Encryption

Nonces should be used for the present occasion and only once.

Runtime Resource Management Control Element in a Component Built to Run on Application Servers

The product uses deployed components from application servers, but it also uses low-level functions/methods for management of resources, instead of the API provided by...

Security Version Number Mutable to Older Versions

Security-version number in hardware is mutable, resulting in the ability to downgrade (roll-back) the boot firmware to vulnerable code versions.

Security-Sensitive Hardware Controls with Missing Lock Bit Protection

The product uses a register lock bit protection mechanism, but it does not ensure that the lock bit prevents modification of system registers or controls that perform ...

Selection of Less-Secure Algorithm During Negotiation ('Algorithm Downgrade')

A protocol or its implementation supports interaction between multiple actors and allows those actors to negotiate which algorithm should be used as a protection mecha...

Self-generated Error Message Containing Sensitive Information

The product identifies an error condition and creates its own diagnostic or error messages that contain sensitive information.

Semiconductor Defects in Hardware Logic with Security-Sensitive Implications

The security-sensitive hardware module contains semiconductor defects.

Sensitive Information in Resource Not Removed Before Reuse

The product releases a resource such as memory or a file so that it can be made available for reuse, but it does not clear or "zeroize" the information contained in th...

Sensitive Information Uncleared Before Debug/Power State Transition

The product performs a power or debug state transition, but it does not clear sensitive information that should no longer be accessible due to changes to information a...

Sensitive Non-Volatile Information Not Protected During Debug

Access to security-sensitive information stored in fuses is not limited during debug.

Sequence of Processor Instructions Leads to Unexpected Behavior

Specific combinations of processor instructions lead to undesirable behavior such as locking the processor until a hard reset performed.

Serializable Data Element Containing non-Serializable Item Elements

The product contains a serializable, storable data element such as a field or member, but the data element contains member elements that are not serializable.

Server-Side Request Forgery (SSRF)

The web server receives a URL or similar request from an upstream component and retrieves the contents of this URL, but it does not sufficiently ensure that the reques...

Signal Handler Race Condition

The product uses a signal handler that introduces a race condition.

Small Space of Random Values

The number of possible random values is smaller than needed by the product, making it more susceptible to brute force attacks.

Source Code Element without Standard Prologue

The source code contains elements such as source files that do not consistently provide a prologue or header that has been standardized for the project.

Source Code File with Excessive Number of Lines of Code

A source code file has too many lines of code.

Spyware

The product collects personally identifiable information about a human user or the user's activities, but the product accesses this information using other resources b...

Storage of Sensitive Data in a Mechanism without Access Control

The product stores sensitive information in a file system or device that does not have built-in access control.

Storing Passwords in a Recoverable Format

The storage of passwords in a recoverable format makes them subject to password reuse attacks by malicious users. In fact, it should be noted that recoverable encrypte...

Symbolic Name not Mapping to Correct Object

A constant symbolic reference to an object is used, even though the reference can resolve to a different object over time.

Synchronous Access of Remote Resource without Timeout

The code has a synchronous call to a remote resource, but there is no timeout for the call, or the timeout is set to infinite.

System-on-Chip (SoC) Using Components without Unique, Immutable Identifiers

The System-on-Chip (SoC) does not have unique, immutable identifiers for each of its components.

The UI Performs the Wrong Action

The UI performs the wrong action with respect to the user's request.

Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition

The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the ...

Trapdoor

A trapdoor is a hidden piece of code that responds to a special input, allowing its user access to resources without passing through the normal security enforcement me...

Trojan Horse

The product appears to contain benign or useful functionality, but it also contains code that is hidden from normal operation that violates the intended security polic...

Truncation of Security-relevant Information

The product truncates the display, recording, or processing of security-relevant information in a way that can obscure the source or nature of an attack.

Trust Boundary Violation

The product mixes trusted and untrusted data in the same data structure or structured message.

Trust of System Event Data

Security based on event locations are insecure and can be spoofed.

Unauthorized Error Injection Can Degrade Hardware Redundancy

An unauthorized agent can inject errors into a redundant block to deprive the system of redundancy or put the system in a degraded operating mode.

Uncaught Exception

An exception is thrown from a function, but it is not caught.

Unchecked Error Condition

[PLANNED FOR DEPRECATION. SEE MAINTENANCE NOTES AND CONSIDER CWE-252, CWE-248, OR CWE-1069.] Ignoring exceptions and other error conditions may allow an attacker to in...

Unchecked Input for Loop Condition

The product does not properly check inputs that are used for loop conditions, potentially leading to a denial of service or other consequences because of excessive loo...

Unchecked Return Value

The product does not check the return value from a method or function, which can prevent it from detecting unexpected states and conditions.

Unconditional Control Flow Transfer outside of Switch Block

The product performs unconditional control transfer (such as a "goto") in code outside of a branching structure such as a switch block.

Uncontrolled Search Path Element

The product uses a fixed or controlled search path to find resources, but one or more locations in that path can be under the control of unintended actors.

Undefined Behavior for Input to API

The behavior of this function is undefined unless its control parameter is set to a specific value.

Unexpected Status Code or Return Value

The product does not properly check when a function or operation returns a value that is legitimate for the function, but is not expected by the product.

Unimplemented or Unsupported Feature in UI

A UI function for a security feature appears to be supported and gives feedback to the user that suggests that it is supported, but the underlying functionality is not...

Uninitialized Value on Reset for Registers Holding Security Settings

Security-critical logic is not set to a known value on reset.

Unintended Reentrant Invocation of Non-reentrant Code Via Nested Calls

During execution of non-reentrant code, the product performs a call that unintentionally produces a nested invocation of the non-reentrant code.

Unlock of a Resource that is not Locked

The product attempts to unlock a resource that is not locked.

Unprotected Alternate Channel

The product protects a primary channel, but it does not use the same level of protection for an alternate channel.

Unprotected Confidential Information on Device is Accessible by OSAT Vendors

The product does not adequately protect confidential information on the device from being accessed by Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test (OSAT) vendors.

Unprotected Primary Channel

The product uses a primary channel for administration or restricted functionality, but it does not properly protect the channel.

Unprotected Transport of Credentials

Login pages do not use adequate measures to protect the user name and password while they are in transit from the client to the server.

Unquoted Search Path or Element

The product uses a search path that contains an unquoted element, in which the element contains whitespace or other separators. This can cause the product to access re...

Unrestricted Externally Accessible Lock

The product properly checks for the existence of a lock, but the lock can be externally controlled or influenced by an actor that is outside of the intended sphere of ...

Unrestricted Upload of File with Dangerous Type

The product allows the attacker to upload or transfer files of dangerous types that can be automatically processed within the product's environment.

Unsynchronized Access to Shared Data in a Multithreaded Context

The product does not properly synchronize shared data, such as static variables across threads, which can lead to undefined behavior and unpredictable data changes.

Untrusted Pointer Dereference

The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer.

Untrusted Search Path

The product searches for critical resources using an externally-supplied search path that can point to resources that are not under the product's direct control.

Unverified Ownership

The product does not properly verify that a critical resource is owned by the proper entity.

Unverified Password Change

When setting a new password for a user, the product does not require knowledge of the original password, or using another form of authentication.

URL Redirection to Untrusted Site ('Open Redirect')

A web application accepts a user-controlled input that specifies a link to an external site, and uses that link in a Redirect. This simplifies phishing attacks.

Use of a Cryptographic Primitive with a Risky Implementation

To fulfill the need for a cryptographic primitive, the product implements a cryptographic algorithm using a non-standard, unproven, or disallowed/non-compliant cryptog...

Use of a Key Past its Expiration Date

The product uses a cryptographic key or password past its expiration date, which diminishes its safety significantly by increasing the timing window for cracking attac...

Use of a Non-reentrant Function in a Concurrent Context

The product calls a non-reentrant function in a concurrent context in which a competing code sequence (e.g. thread or signal handler) may have an opportunity to call t...

Use of Blocking Code in Single-threaded, Non-blocking Context

The product uses a non-blocking model that relies on a single threaded process for features such as scalability, but it contains code that can block when it is invo...

Use of Cache Containing Sensitive Information

The code uses a cache that contains sensitive information, but the cache can be read by an actor outside of the intended control sphere.

Use of Client-Side Authentication

A client/server product performs authentication within client code but not in server code, allowing server-side authentication to be bypassed via a modified client tha...

Use of Cryptographically Weak Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG)

The product uses a Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) in a security context, but the PRNG's algorithm is not cryptographically strong.

Use of Default Credentials

The product uses default credentials (such as passwords or cryptographic keys) for potentially critical functionality.

Use of Default Cryptographic Key

The product uses a default cryptographic key for potentially critical functionality.

Use of Default Password

The product uses default passwords for potentially critical functionality.

Use of Expired File Descriptor

The product uses or accesses a file descriptor after it has been closed.

Use of Externally-Controlled Format String

The product uses a function that accepts a format string as an argument, but the format string originates from an external source.

Use of Externally-Controlled Input to Select Classes or Code ('Unsafe Reflection')

The product uses external input with reflection to select which classes or code to use, but it does not sufficiently prevent the input from selecting improper classes ...

Use of Function with Inconsistent Implementations

The code uses a function that has inconsistent implementations across operating systems and versions.

Use of Hard-coded Credentials

The product contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication to exter...

Use of Hard-coded, Security-relevant Constants

The product uses hard-coded constants instead of symbolic names for security-critical values, which increases the likelihood of mistakes during code maintenance or sec...

Use of Incorrect Operator

The product accidentally uses the wrong operator, which changes the logic in security-relevant ways.

Use of Inherently Dangerous Function

The product calls a function that can never be guaranteed to work safely.

Use of Invariant Value in Dynamically Changing Context

The product uses a constant value, name, or reference, but this value can (or should) vary across different environments.

Use of Less Trusted Source

The product has two different sources of the same data or information, but it uses the source that has less support for verification, is less trusted, or is less resis...

Use of Low-Level Functionality

The product uses low-level functionality that is explicitly prohibited by the framework or specification under which the product is supposed to operate.

Use of Multiple Resources with Duplicate Identifier

The product uses multiple resources that can have the same identifier, in a context in which unique identifiers are required.

Use of NullPointerException Catch to Detect NULL Pointer Dereference

Catching NullPointerException should not be used as an alternative to programmatic checks to prevent dereferencing a null pointer.

Use of Object without Invoking Destructor Method

The product contains a method that accesses an object but does not later invoke the element's associated finalize/destructor method.

Use of Obsolete Function

The code uses deprecated or obsolete functions, which suggests that the code has not been actively reviewed or maintained.

Use of Out-of-range Pointer Offset

The product performs pointer arithmetic on a valid pointer, but it uses an offset that can point outside of the intended range of valid memory locations for the result...

Use of Password Hash Instead of Password for Authentication

The product records password hashes in a data store, receives a hash of a password from a client, and compares the supplied hash to the hash obtained from the data store.

Use of Password Hash With Insufficient Computational Effort

The product generates a hash for a password, but it uses a scheme that does not provide a sufficient level of computational effort that would make password cracking at...

Use of Password System for Primary Authentication

The use of password systems as the primary means of authentication may be subject to several flaws or shortcomings, each reducing the effectiveness of the mechanism.

Use of Platform-Dependent Third Party Components

The product relies on third-party components that do not provide equivalent functionality across all desirable platforms.

Use of Pointer Subtraction to Determine Size

The product subtracts one pointer from another in order to determine size, but this calculation can be incorrect if the pointers do not exist in the same memory chunk.

Use of Potentially Dangerous Function

The product invokes a potentially dangerous function that could introduce a vulnerability if it is used incorrectly, but the function can also be used safely.

Use of Predictable Algorithm in Random Number Generator

The device uses an algorithm that is predictable and generates a pseudo-random number.

Use of Redundant Code

The product has multiple functions, methods, procedures, macros, etc. that contain the same code.

Use of Same Invokable Control Element in Multiple Architectural Layers

The product uses the same control element across multiple architectural layers.

Use of Same Variable for Multiple Purposes

The code contains a callable, block, or other code element in which the same variable is used to control more than one unique task or store more than one ins...

Use of Single-factor Authentication

The use of single-factor authentication can lead to unnecessary risk of compromise when compared with the benefits of a dual-factor authentication scheme.

Use of Uninitialized Resource

The product uses or accesses a resource that has not been initialized.

Use of Unmaintained Third Party Components

The product relies on third-party components that are not actively supported or maintained by the original developer or a trusted proxy for the original deve...

Use of Weak Hash

The product uses an algorithm that produces a digest (output value) that does not meet security expectations for a hash function that allows an adversary to reasonably...

Weak Encoding for Password

Obscuring a password with a trivial encoding does not protect the password.

Weak Password Recovery Mechanism for Forgotten Password

The product contains a mechanism for users to recover or change their passwords without knowing the original password, but the mechanism is weak.

Weak Password Requirements

The product does not require that users should have strong passwords, which makes it easier for attackers to compromise user accounts.

Wrap-around Error

Wrap around errors occur whenever a value is incremented past the maximum value for its type and therefore "wraps around" to a very small, negative, or undefined value.

Write-what-where Condition

Any condition where the attacker has the ability to write an arbitrary value to an arbitrary location, often as the result of a buffer overflow.

XML Injection (aka Blind XPath Injection)

The product does not properly neutralize special elements that are used in XML, allowing attackers to modify the syntax, content, or commands of the XML before it is p...


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