CWE - CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion (4.18)

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CWE Glossary Definition

CWE-674: Uncontrolled Recursion

Weakness ID: 674

Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWED This CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review (with careful review of mapping notes)
Abstraction: Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource.

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Description

The product does not properly control the amount of recursion that takes place, consuming excessive resources, such as allocated memory or the program stack.

Alternate Terms

Stack Exhaustion

Common Consequences

Section HelpThis table specifies different individual consequences associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to achieve a different impact.

Impact	Details
DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU); DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory)	Scope: Availability Resources including CPU, memory, and stack memory could be rapidly consumed or exhausted, eventually leading to an exit or crash.
Read Application Data	Scope: Confidentiality In some cases, an application's interpreter might kill a process or thread that appears to be consuming too much resources, such as with PHP's memory_limit setting. When the interpreter kills the process/thread, it might report an error containing detailed information such as the application's installation path.

Potential Mitigations

Phase(s)	Mitigation
Implementation	Ensure an end condition will be reached under all logic conditions. The end condition may include testing against the depth of recursion and exiting with an error if the recursion goes too deep. The complexity of the end condition contributes to the effectiveness of this action. Effectiveness: Moderate
Implementation	Increase the stack size. Effectiveness: Limited Note: Increasing the stack size might only be a temporary measure, since the stack typically is still not very large, and it might remain easy for attackers to cause an out-of-stack fault.

Relationships

Section Help This table shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore.

Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (View-1000)

Nature	Type	ID	Name
ChildOf	Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource.	834	Excessive Iteration
ParentOf	Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.	776	Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

Relevant to the view "Weaknesses for Simplified Mapping of Published Vulnerabilities" (View-1003)

Nature	Type	ID	Name
MemberOf	View View - a subset of CWE entries that provides a way of examining CWE content. The two main view structures are Slices (flat lists) and Graphs (containing relationships between entries).	1003	Weaknesses for Simplified Mapping of Published Vulnerabilities
ParentOf	Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.	776	Improper Restriction of Recursive Entity References in DTDs ('XML Entity Expansion')

Modes Of Introduction

Section HelpThe different Modes of Introduction provide information about how and when this weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the life cycle at which introduction may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the given phase.

Phase	Note
Implementation	The uncontrolled recursion is often due to an improper or missing conditional

Applicable Platforms

Section HelpThis listing shows possible areas for which the given weakness could appear. These may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms, Technologies, or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given weakness appears for that instance.

Languages

Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)

Demonstrative Examples

Example 1

In this example a mistake exists in the code where the exit condition contained in flg is never called. This results in the function calling itself over and over again until the stack is exhausted.

(bad code)

Example Language: C

void do_something_recursive (int flg)
{

... // Do some real work here, but the value of flg is unmodified
if (flg) { do_something_recursive (flg); } // flg is never modified so it is always TRUE - this call will continue until the stack explodes

}
int flag = 1; // Set to TRUE
do_something_recursive (flag);

Note that the only difference between the Good and Bad examples is that the recursion flag will change value and cause the recursive call to return.

(good code)

Example Language: C

void do_something_recursive (int flg)
{

... // Do some real work here
// Modify value of flg on done condition
if (flg) { do_something_recursive (flg); } // returns when flg changes to 0

}
int flag = 1; // Set to TRUE
do_something_recursive (flag);

Selected Observed Examples

Note: this is a curated list of examples for users to understand the variety of ways in which this weakness can be introduced. It is not a complete list of all CVEs that are related to this CWE entry.

Reference	Description
CVE-2007-1285	Deeply nested arrays trigger stack exhaustion.
CVE-2007-3409	Self-referencing pointers create infinite loop and resultant stack exhaustion.
CVE-2016-10707	Javascript application accidentally changes input in a way that prevents a recursive call from detecting an exit condition.
CVE-2016-3627	An attempt to recover a corrupted XML file infinite recursion protection counter was not always incremented missing the exit condition.
CVE-2019-15118	USB-audio driver's descriptor code parsing allows unlimited recursion leading to stack exhaustion.

Detection Methods

Method	Details
Automated Static Analysis	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.) Effectiveness: High

Method

Details

Automated Static Analysis

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.)

Effectiveness: High

Affected Resources

Memberships

Section HelpThis MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits within the context of external information sources.

Nature	Type	ID	Name
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	730	OWASP Top Ten 2004 Category A9 - Denial of Service
MemberOf	ViewView - a subset of CWE entries that provides a way of examining CWE content. The two main view structures are Slices (flat lists) and Graphs (containing relationships between entries).	884	CWE Cross-section
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	985	SFP Secondary Cluster: Unrestricted Consumption
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1129	CISQ Quality Measures (2016) - Reliability
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1410	Comprehensive Categorization: Insufficient Control Flow Management

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Usage ALLOWED-WITH-REVIEW

(this CWE ID could be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities in limited situations requiring careful review)

Reason Abstraction

Rationale

This CWE entry is a Class and might have Base-level children that would be more appropriate

Comments

Examine children of this entry to see if there is a better fit

Taxonomy Mappings

Mapped Taxonomy Name	Node ID	Fit	Mapped Node Name
OWASP Top Ten 2004	A9	CWE More Specific	Denial of Service
Software Fault Patterns	SFP13	Unrestricted Consumption
OMG ASCRM	ASCRM-CWE-674

Related Attack Patterns

CAPEC-ID	Attack Pattern Name
CAPEC-230	Serialized Data with Nested Payloads
CAPEC-231	Oversized Serialized Data Payloads

References

[REF-961] Object Management Group (OMG). "Automated Source Code Reliability Measure (ASCRM)". ASCRM-CWE-674. 2016-01.
<http://www.omg.org/spec/ASCRM/1.0/>.

Content History

Submissions
Submission Date	Submitter	Organization
2008年04月11日 (CWE Draft 9, 2008年04月11日)	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2008年04月11日 (CWE Draft 9, 2008年04月11日)
Modifications
Modification Date	Modifier	Organization
2024年02月29日 (CWE 4.14, 2024年02月29日)	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2024年02月29日 (CWE 4.14, 2024年02月29日)	updated Demonstrative_Examples
2023年06月29日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023年06月29日	updated Mapping_Notes
2023年04月27日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023年04月27日	updated Detection_Factors, Relationships
2023年01月31日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023年01月31日	updated Description, Relationships
2022年10月13日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2022年10月13日	updated Demonstrative_Examples
2021年03月15日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2021年03月15日	updated Potential_Mitigations
2020年12月10日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2020年12月10日	updated Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Modes_of_Introduction, Observed_Examples, Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction
2020年02月24日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2020年02月24日	updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships
2019年06月20日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2019年06月20日	updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships, Type
2019年01月03日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2019年01月03日	updated References, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2017年11月08日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2017年11月08日	updated Applicable_Platforms, Relationships
2014年07月30日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2014年07月30日	updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2014年02月18日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2014年02月18日	updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2013年02月21日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2013年02月21日	updated Relationships
2012年10月30日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2012年10月30日	updated Potential_Mitigations
2012年05月11日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2012年05月11日	updated Relationships
2011年06月01日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2011年06月01日	updated Common_Consequences
2011年03月29日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2011年03月29日	updated Relationships
2009年03月10日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2009年03月10日	updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2008年09月08日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2008年09月08日	updated Common_Consequences, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2008年07月01日	Eric Dalci	Cigital
2008年07月01日	updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction

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Page Last Updated: September 09, 2025

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