CWE - CWE-676: Use of Potentially Dangerous Function (4.18)

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CWE Glossary Definition

CWE-676: Use of Potentially Dangerous Function

Weakness ID: 676

Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWED This CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities
Abstraction: 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.

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Description

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.

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
Varies by Context; Quality Degradation; Unexpected State	Scope: Other If the function is used incorrectly, then it could result in security problems.

Potential Mitigations

Phase(s)	Mitigation
Build and Compilation; Implementation	Identify a list of prohibited API functions and prohibit developers from using these functions, providing safer alternatives. In some cases, automatic code analysis tools or the compiler can be instructed to spot use of prohibited functions, such as the "banned.h" include file from Microsoft's SDL. [REF-554] [REF-7]

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.	1177	Use of Prohibited Code
ParentOf	Variant Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.	785	Use of Path Manipulation Function without Maximum-sized Buffer

Relevant to the view "Software Development" (View-699)

Nature	Type	ID	Name
MemberOf	Category Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1228	API / Function Errors

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

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

C (Undetermined Prevalence)

C++ (Undetermined Prevalence)

Likelihood Of Exploit

High

Demonstrative Examples

Example 1

The following code attempts to create a local copy of a buffer to perform some manipulations to the data.

(bad code)

Example Language: C

void manipulate_string(char * string){

char buf[24];
strcpy(buf, string);
...

}

However, the programmer does not ensure that the size of the data pointed to by string will fit in the local buffer and copies the data with the potentially dangerous strcpy() function. This may result in a buffer overflow condition if an attacker can influence the contents of the string parameter.

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-2007-1470	Library has multiple buffer overflows using sprintf() and strcpy()
CVE-2009-3849	Buffer overflow using strcat()
CVE-2006-2114	Buffer overflow using strcpy()
CVE-2006-0963	Buffer overflow using strcpy()
CVE-2011-0712	Vulnerable use of strcpy() changed to use safer strlcpy()
CVE-2008-5005	Buffer overflow using strcpy()

Weakness Ordinalities

Ordinality	Description
Primary	(where the weakness exists independent of other weaknesses)
Indirect	(where the weakness is a quality issue that might indirectly make it easier to introduce security-relevant weaknesses or make them more difficult to detect)

Detection Methods

Method	Details
Automated Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Bytecode Weakness Analysis - including disassembler + source code weakness analysis Binary Weakness Analysis - including disassembler + source code weakness analysis Cost effective for partial coverage: Binary / Bytecode Quality Analysis Binary / Bytecode simple extractor - strings, ELF readers, etc. Effectiveness: High
Manual Static Analysis - Binary or Bytecode	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage: Binary / Bytecode disassembler - then use manual analysis for vulnerabilities & anomalies Effectiveness: SOAR Partial
Dynamic Analysis with Manual Results Interpretation	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Debugger Cost effective for partial coverage: Monitored Virtual Environment - run potentially malicious code in sandbox / wrapper / virtual machine, see if it does anything suspicious Effectiveness: High
Manual Static Analysis - Source Code	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Manual Source Code Review (not inspections) Cost effective for partial coverage: Focused Manual Spotcheck - Focused manual analysis of source Effectiveness: High
Automated Static Analysis - Source Code	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Source code Weakness Analyzer Context-configured Source Code Weakness Analyzer Cost effective for partial coverage: Warning Flags Source Code Quality Analyzer Effectiveness: High
Automated Static Analysis	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Cost effective for partial coverage: Origin Analysis Effectiveness: SOAR Partial
Architecture or Design Review	According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: Highly cost effective: Formal Methods / Correct-By-Construction Inspection (IEEE 1028 standard) (can apply to requirements, design, source code, etc.) Effectiveness: High

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.	738	CERT C Secure Coding Standard (2008) Chapter 5 - Integers (INT)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	743	CERT C Secure Coding Standard (2008) Chapter 10 - Input Output (FIO)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	746	CERT C Secure Coding Standard (2008) Chapter 13 - Error Handling (ERR)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	865	2011 Top 25 - Risky Resource Management
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	872	CERT C++ Secure Coding Section 04 - Integers (INT)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	877	CERT C++ Secure Coding Section 09 - Input Output (FIO)
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.	1001	SFP Secondary Cluster: Use of an Improper API
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1161	SEI CERT C Coding Standard - Guidelines 07. Characters and Strings (STR)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1165	SEI CERT C Coding Standard - Guidelines 10. Environment (ENV)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1167	SEI CERT C Coding Standard - Guidelines 12. Error Handling (ERR)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1169	SEI CERT C Coding Standard - Guidelines 14. Concurrency (CON)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1170	SEI CERT C Coding Standard - Guidelines 48. Miscellaneous (MSC)
MemberOf	CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic.	1412	Comprehensive Categorization: Poor Coding Practices

Vulnerability Mapping Notes

Usage ALLOWED

(this CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities)

Reason Acceptable-Use

Rationale

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.

Comments

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.

Notes

Relationship

This weakness is different than CWE-242 (Use of Inherently Dangerous Function). CWE-242 covers functions with such significant security problems that they can never be guaranteed to be safe. Some functions, if used properly, do not directly pose a security risk, but can introduce a weakness if not called correctly. These are regarded as potentially dangerous. A well-known example is the strcpy() function. When provided with a destination buffer that is larger than its source, strcpy() will not overflow. However, it is so often misused that some developers prohibit strcpy() entirely.

Taxonomy Mappings

Mapped Taxonomy Name	Node ID	Fit	Mapped Node Name
7 Pernicious Kingdoms	Dangerous Functions
CERT C Secure Coding	CON33-C	CWE More Abstract	Avoid race conditions when using library functions
CERT C Secure Coding	ENV33-C	CWE More Abstract	Do not call system()
CERT C Secure Coding	ERR07-C	Prefer functions that support error checking over equivalent functions that don't
CERT C Secure Coding	ERR34-C	CWE More Abstract	Detect errors when converting a string to a number
CERT C Secure Coding	FIO01-C	Be careful using functions that use file names for identification
CERT C Secure Coding	MSC30-C	CWE More Abstract	Do not use the rand() function for generating pseudorandom numbers
CERT C Secure Coding	STR31-C	Imprecise	Guarantee that storage for strings has sufficient space for character data and the null terminator
Software Fault Patterns	SFP3	Use of an improper API

References

[REF-6] Katrina Tsipenyuk, Brian Chess and Gary McGraw. "Seven Pernicious Kingdoms: A Taxonomy of Software Security Errors". NIST Workshop on Software Security Assurance Tools Techniques and Metrics. NIST. 2005年11月07日.
<https://samate.nist.gov/SSATTM_Content/papers/Seven%20Pernicious%20Kingdoms%20-%20Taxonomy%20of%20Sw%20Security%20Errors%20-%20Tsipenyuk%20-%20Chess%20-%20McGraw.pdf>.

[REF-554] Michael Howard. "Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) Banned Function Calls".
<https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/previous-versions/bb288454(v=msdn.10)?redirectedfrom=MSDN>. (URL validated: 2023年04月07日)

[REF-7] Michael Howard and David LeBlanc. "Writing Secure Code". Chapter 5, "Safe String Handling" Page 156, 160. 2nd Edition. Microsoft Press. 2002年12月04日.
<https://www.microsoftpressstore.com/store/writing-secure-code-9780735617223>.

[REF-62] Mark Dowd, John McDonald and Justin Schuh. "The Art of Software Security Assessment". Chapter 8, "C String Handling", Page 388. 1st Edition. Addison Wesley. 2006.

[REF-1479] Gregory Larsen, E. Kenneth Hong Fong, David A. Wheeler and Rama S. Moorthy. "State-of-the-Art Resources (SOAR) for Software Vulnerability Detection, Test, and Evaluation". 2014-07.
<https://www.ida.org/-/media/feature/publications/s/st/stateoftheart-resources-soar-for-software-vulnerability-detection-test-and-evaluation/p-5061.ashx>. (URL validated: 2025年09月05日)

Content History

Submissions
Submission Date	Submitter	Organization
2008年04月11日 (CWE Draft 9, 2008年04月11日)	7 Pernicious Kingdoms
2008年04月11日 (CWE Draft 9, 2008年04月11日)
Modifications
Modification Date	Modifier	Organization
2025年09月09日 (CWE 4.18, 2025年09月09日)	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2025年09月09日 (CWE 4.18, 2025年09月09日)	updated Detection_Factors, References
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 References, Relationships, Time_of_Introduction
2023年01月31日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2023年01月31日	updated Description
2021年03月15日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2021年03月15日	updated Demonstrative_Examples
2020年12月10日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2020年12月10日	updated Demonstrative_Examples
2020年02月24日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2020年02月24日	updated Detection_Factors, References, Relationships
2019年01月03日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2019年01月03日	updated Relationships, Weakness_Ordinalities
2018年03月27日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2018年03月27日	updated References
2017年11月08日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2017年11月08日	updated Causal_Nature, References, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2017年05月03日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2017年05月03日	updated Related_Attack_Patterns
2014年07月30日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2014年07月30日	updated Detection_Factors, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2012年05月11日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2012年05月11日	updated References, Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships, Weakness_Ordinalities
2011年09月13日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2011年09月13日	updated Potential_Mitigations, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2011年06月27日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2011年06月27日	updated Common_Consequences, Observed_Examples, Potential_Mitigations, References, Relationships
2011年06月01日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2011年06月01日	updated Common_Consequences
2010年02月16日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2010年02月16日	updated Demonstrative_Examples, Other_Notes, References, Relationship_Notes
2009年07月27日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2009年07月27日	updated Relationships
2008年11月24日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2008年11月24日	updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2008年09月08日	CWE Content Team	MITRE
2008年09月08日	updated Applicable_Platforms, Relationships, Other_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings, Weakness_Ordinalities
2008年07月01日	Eric Dalci	Cigital
2008年07月01日	updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction
2008年07月01日	Sean Eidemiller	Cigital
2008年07月01日	added/updated demonstrative examples

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Page Last Updated: September 09, 2025

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