CWE-457: Use of Uninitialized Variable

ID CWE-457

Abstraction Variant

Structure Simple

Status Draft

Number of CVEs 62

The code uses a variable that has not been initialized, leading to unpredictable or unintended results.

In some languages such as C and C++, stack variables are not initialized by default. They generally contain junk data with the contents of stack memory before the function was invoked. An attacker can sometimes control or read these contents. In other languages or conditions, a variable that is not explicitly initialized can be given a default value that has security implications, depending on the logic of the program. The presence of an uninitialized variable can sometimes indicate a typographic error in the code.

Modes of Introduction

Phase	Note
Implementation	In C, using an uninitialized char * in some string libraries will return incorrect results, as the libraries expect the null terminator to always be at the end of a string, even if the string is empty.

Applicable Platforms

Type	Class	Name
Language		C
Language		C++
Language		Perl
Language		PHP
Language	Not Language-Specific

Relationships

View			Weakness
# ID	View	Status	# ID	Name	Abstraction	Structure	Status
CWE-1000	Research Concepts	Draft	CWE-908	Use of Uninitialized Resource	Base	Simple	Incomplete
CWE-1305	CISQ Quality Measures (2020)	Incomplete	CWE-665	Improper Initialization	Class	Simple	Draft
CWE-1340	CISQ Data Protection Measures	Incomplete	CWE-665	Improper Initialization	Class	Simple	Draft

CVEs Published

Based on CVE published date

CVSS Severity

CVSS Severity - By Year

CVSS Base Score

# CVE	Description	CVSS	EPSS	EPSS Trend (30 days)	Affected Products	Weaknesses	Security Advisories	Exploits	PoC	Pubblication Date	Modification Date
# CVE	Description	CVSS	EPSS	EPSS Trend (30 days)	Affected Products	Weaknesses	Security Advisories	PoC	Pubblication Date	Modification Date