Description
The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an expected special element is missing.
Potential Impact
Availability
DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Mitigations & Prevention
Developers should anticipate that special elements will be removed in the input vectors of their product. Use an appropriate combination of denylists and allowlists to ensure only valid, expected and appropriate input is processed by the system.
Assume all input is malicious. Use an "accept known good" input validation strategy, i.e., use a list of acceptable inputs that strictly conform to specifications. Reject any input that does not strictly conform to specifications, or transform it into something that does. When performing input validation, consider all potentially relevant properties, including length, type of input, the full range of acceptable values, missing or extra inputs, syntax, consistency across relat
Inputs should be decoded and canonicalized to the application's current internal representation before being validated (CWE-180). Make sure that the application does not decode the same input twice (CWE-174). Such errors could be used to bypass allowlist validation schemes by introducing dangerous inputs after they have been checked.
Real-World CVE Examples
| CVE ID | Description |
|---|---|
| CVE-2002-1362 | Crash via message type without separator character |
| CVE-2002-0729 | Missing special character (separator) causes crash |
| CVE-2002-1532 | HTTP GET without \r\n\r\n CRLF sequences causes product to wait indefinitely and prevents other users from accessing it |
Related Weaknesses
Taxonomy Mappings
- PLOVER: — Missing Special Element
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CWE-166?
CWE-166 (Improper Handling of Missing Special Element) is a software weakness identified by MITRE's Common Weakness Enumeration. It is classified as a Base-level weakness. The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not handle or incorrectly handles when an expected special element is missing.
How can CWE-166 be exploited?
Attackers can exploit CWE-166 (Improper Handling of Missing Special Element) to dos: crash, exit, or restart. This weakness is typically introduced during the Implementation phase of software development.
How do I prevent CWE-166?
Key mitigations include: Developers should anticipate that special elements will be removed in the input vectors of their product. Use an appropriate combination of denylists and allowlists to ensure only valid, expected and
What is the severity of CWE-166?
CWE-166 is classified as a Base-level weakness (Medium abstraction). It has been observed in 3 real-world CVEs.