CWE-242 10 CVEs MITRE definition ↗

CWE-242: Use of Inherently Dangerous Function

Overview

CWE-242 (Use of Inherently Dangerous Function) documents a weakness type used across vulnerability databases and security assessments. Use the sections below for definition, context, and mapped CVEs.

Security impact
Security impact: Depends on product and context; use CVE records, severity scores, and MITRE guidance to prioritize.

Description

The product calls a function that can never be guaranteed to work safely.

Applicable platforms

Kind Name Class Prevalence OS / CPE
language C Undetermined
language C++ Undetermined

Related CVEs in this database

These CVEs are mapped to this weakness in this database and kept for traceability and search.

CVE Published Summary
CVE-2026-6477 2026-05-14 Use of inherently dangerous function PQfn(..., result_is_int=0, ...) in PostgreSQL libpq lo_export(), lo_read(), lo_lseek64(), and lo_tell64() functions allows the server superuser to overwrite a clie…
CVE-2025-1994 2025-08-26 IBM Cognos Command Center 10.2.4.1 and 10.2.5 could allow a local user to execute arbitrary code on the system due to the use of unsafe use of the BinaryFormatter function.
CVE-2025-49215 2025-06-17 A post-auth SQL injection vulnerability in the Trend Micro Endpoint Encryption PolicyServer could allow an attacker to escalate privileges on affected installations. Please note: an attacker must …
CVE-2025-1331 2025-05-08 IBM CICS TX Standard 11.1 and IBM CICS TX Advanced 10.1 and 11.1 could allow a local user to execute arbitrary code on the system due to the use of unsafe use of the gets function.
CVE-2024-52324 2024-12-06 Ruijie Reyee OS versions 2.206.x up to but not including 2.320.x uses an inherently dangerous function which could allow an attacker to send a malicious MQTT message resulting in devices executing arb…
CVE-2021-40698 2023-09-07 ColdFusion version 2021 update 1 (and earlier) and versions 2018.10 (and earlier) are impacted by an Use of Inherently Dangerous Function vulnerability that can lead to a security feature bypass  . An…
CVE-2022-36310 2022-08-16 Airspan AirVelocity 1500 software prior to version 15.18.00.2511 had NET-SNMP-EXTEND-MIB enabled on its snmpd service, enabling an attacker with SNMP write abilities to execute commands as root on the…
CVE-2021-42543 2021-11-05 The affected application uses specific functions that could be abused through a crafted project file, which could lead to code execution, system reboot, and system shutdown.
CVE-2017-1002157 2019-01-10 modulemd 1.3.1 and earlier uses an unsafe function for processing externally provided data, leading to remote code execution.
CVE-2017-0904 2017-11-13 The private_address_check ruby gem before 0.4.0 is vulnerable to a bypass due to use of Ruby's Resolv.getaddresses method, which is OS-dependent and should not be relied upon for security measures, su…

Previous names

  • Dangerous Functions (2008-01-30)
  • Use of Inherently Dangerous Functions (2008-04-11)

Content submission

Name
7 Pernicious Kingdoms
Date
2006-07-19
Version
Draft 3

Content modifications

Date Name Version Importance Comment
2008-07-01 Sean Eidemiller 1.0 added/updated demonstrative examples
2008-07-01 Eric Dalci 1.0 updated Potential_Mitigations
2008-09-08 CWE Content Team 1.0 updated Applicable_Platforms, Relationships, Other_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings, Type, Weakness_Ordinalities
2008-11-24 CWE Content Team 1.1 updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2009-10-29 CWE Content Team 1.6 updated Description, Other_Notes, References
2010-02-16 CWE Content Team 1.8 updated Demonstrative_Examples, References, Relationships
2010-04-05 CWE Content Team 1.8.1 updated Relationships
2011-06-01 CWE Content Team 1.13 updated Common_Consequences
2011-06-27 CWE Content Team 2.0 updated Common_Consequences
2012-05-11 CWE Content Team 2.2 updated Relationships
2012-10-30 CWE Content Team 2.3 updated Potential_Mitigations
2014-07-30 CWE Content Team 2.8 updated Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2017-11-08 CWE Content Team 3.0 updated Causal_Nature, References, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings
2018-03-27 CWE Content Team 3.1 updated References
2019-01-03 CWE Content Team 3.2 updated Relationships
2020-02-24 CWE Content Team 4.0 updated References, Relationships
2020-12-10 CWE Content Team 4.3 updated Demonstrative_Examples
2021-03-15 CWE Content Team 4.4 updated Demonstrative_Examples
2023-01-31 CWE Content Team 4.10 updated Description
2023-04-27 CWE Content Team 4.11 updated Detection_Factors, Relationships
2023-06-29 CWE Content Team 4.12 updated Mapping_Notes
2024-02-29 CWE Content Team 4.14 updated Observed_Examples
2026-04-30 CWE Content Team 4.20 updated Potential_Mitigations, References
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