An exception is thrown from a function, but it is not caught.
When an exception is not caught, it may cause the program to crash or expose sensitive information.
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChildOf | Allowed-with-Review | C | 705 | Incorrect Control Flow Scoping |
| ChildOf | Discouraged | C | 755 | Improper Handling of Exceptional Conditions |
| ParentOf | Allowed | V | 600 | Uncaught Exception in Servlet |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 227 | 7PK - API Abuse |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 389 | Error Conditions, Return Values, Status Codes |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 730 | OWASP Top Ten 2004 Category A9 - Denial of Service |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 851 | The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java (2011) Chapter 8 - Exceptional Behavior (ERR) |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | V | 884 | CWE Cross-section |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 962 | SFP Secondary Cluster: Unchecked Status Condition |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 1141 | SEI CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java - Guidelines 07. Exceptional Behavior (ERR) |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 1181 | SEI CERT Perl Coding Standard - Guidelines 03. Expressions (EXP) |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 1410 | Comprehensive Categorization: Insufficient Control Flow Management |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | BS | BOSS-247 | Weaknesses in Software Written in C# |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | BS | BOSS-324 | DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart (impact) |
| MemberOf | Prohibited | BS | BOSS-328 | Read Application Data (impact) |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 1141 | SEI CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java - Guidelines 07. Exceptional Behavior (ERR) |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 1181 | SEI CERT Perl Coding Standard - Guidelines 03. Expressions (EXP) |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 227 | 7PK - API Abuse |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 389 | Error Conditions, Return Values, Status Codes |
| Nature | Mapping | Type | ID | Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MemberOf | Prohibited | C | 962 | SFP Secondary Cluster: Unchecked Status Condition |
| Scope | Likelihood | Impact | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AvailabilityConfidentiality | N/A | DoS: Crash, Exit, or RestartRead Application Data | An uncaught exception could cause the system to be placed in a state that could lead to a crash, exposure of sensitive information or other unintended behaviors. |
An uncaught exception could cause the system to be placed in a state that could lead to a crash, exposure of sensitive information or other unintended behaviors.
N/A
The following example attempts to resolve a hostname.
A DNS lookup failure will cause the Servlet to throw an exception.
The _alloca() function allocates memory on the stack. If an allocation request is too large for the available stack space, _alloca() throws an exception. If the exception is not caught, the program will crash, potentially enabling a denial of service attack. _alloca() has been deprecated as of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005(R). It has been replaced with the more secure _alloca_s().
EnterCriticalSection() can raise an exception, potentially causing the program to crash. Under operating systems prior to Windows 2000, the EnterCriticalSection() function can raise an exception in low memory situations. If the exception is not caught, the program will crash, potentially enabling a denial of service attack.
| Reference | Description |
|---|---|
| CVE-2023-41151 | SDK for OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server has uncaught exception when a socket is blocked for writing but the server tries to send an error |
| CVE-2023-21087 | Java code in a smartphone OS can encounter a "boot loop" due to an uncaught exception |
| Ordinality | Description |
|---|
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
N/A
This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.
| Taxonomy Name | Entry ID | Fit | Entry Name |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Pernicious Kingdoms | N/A | N/A | Often Misused: Exception Handling |
| The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java (2011) | ERR05-J | N/A | Do not let checked exceptions escape from a finally block |
| The CERT Oracle Secure Coding Standard for Java (2011) | ERR06-J | N/A | Do not throw undeclared checked exceptions |
| SEI CERT Perl Coding Standard | EXP31-PL | Exact | Do not suppress or ignore exceptions |
| Software Fault Patterns | SFP4 | N/A | Unchecked Status Condition |
| ID | Name |
|---|