CWE-483: Incorrect Block Delimitation

Description

The code does not explicitly delimit a block that is intended to contain 2 or more statements, creating a logic error.

Submission Date :

July 19, 2006, midnight

Modification Date :

2023-10-26 00:00:00+00:00

Organization :

MITRE

Extended Description

In some languages, braces (or other delimiters) are optional for blocks. When the delimiter is omitted, it is possible to insert a logic error in which a statement is thought to be in a block but is not. In some cases, the logic error can have security implications.

Example Vulnerable Codes

Example - 1

In this example, the programmer has indented the statements to call Do_X() and Do_Y(), as if the intention is that these functions are only called when the condition is true. However, because there are no braces to signify the block, Do_Y() will always be executed, even if the condition is false.


Do_X();Do_Y();if (condition==true)

This might not be what the programmer intended. When the condition is critical for security, such as in making a security decision or detecting a critical error, this may produce a vulnerability.

Example - 2

In this example, the programmer has indented the Do_Y() statement as if the intention is that the function should be associated with the preceding conditional and should only be called when the condition is true. However, because Do_X() was called on the same line as the conditional and there are no braces to signify the block, Do_Y() will always be executed, even if the condition is false.

Do_Y();if (condition==true) Do_X();

This might not be what the programmer intended. When the condition is critical for security, such as in making a security decision or detecting a critical error, this may produce a vulnerability.

Related Weaknesses

This table shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined to give an overview of the different insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction.

CWE-670: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation

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