Category: OWASP Top Ten 2004 Category A9 - Denial of Service

Obsolete
Summary

Weaknesses in this category are related to the A9 category in the OWASP Top Ten 2004.

Membership
IDNameDescription
CWE-170Improper Null TerminationThis weakness occurs when software fails to properly end a string or array with the required null character or equivalent terminator.
CWE-248Uncaught ExceptionThis vulnerability occurs when a function throws an error or exception, but the calling code does not have a proper handler to catch and manage it.
CWE-369Divide By ZeroA divide-by-zero error occurs when software attempts to perform a division operation where the denominator is zero.
CWE-382J2EE Bad Practices: Use of System.exit()This vulnerability occurs when a J2EE application directly calls System.exit(), which forcibly terminates the entire application server process, not just the application itself.
CWE-400Uncontrolled Resource ConsumptionThis vulnerability occurs when an application fails to properly manage a finite resource, allowing an attacker to exhaust it and cause a denial of service.
CWE-401Missing Release of Memory after Effective LifetimeThis vulnerability occurs when a program allocates memory but fails to properly release it after it's no longer needed, causing a gradual accumulation of unused memory that can't be reclaimed by the system.
CWE-404Improper Resource Shutdown or ReleaseThis vulnerability occurs when a program fails to properly close or release a system resource—like a file handle, database connection, or memory block—after it's no longer needed, preventing its reuse.
CWE-405Asymmetric Resource Consumption (Amplification)This vulnerability occurs when a system allows an attacker to trigger a disproportionate amount of resource consumption—like CPU, memory, or bandwidth—with minimal effort on their part. The attacker's small input causes a large, inefficient output, creating an unfair 'asymmetric' advantage.
CWE-410Insufficient Resource PoolThis vulnerability occurs when a system's resource pool is too small to handle maximum usage. Attackers can exploit this by making a high volume of requests, consuming all available resources and blocking legitimate users.
CWE-412Unrestricted Externally Accessible LockThis vulnerability occurs when a system correctly checks for a lock's existence, but an unauthorized external actor can control or influence that lock.
CWE-476NULL Pointer DereferenceThis vulnerability occurs when a program attempts to access or manipulate memory using a pointer that is set to NULL, causing a crash or unexpected behavior.
CWE-674Uncontrolled RecursionThis vulnerability occurs when an application fails to limit how deeply a function can call itself. Without proper controls, this uncontrolled recursion can exhaust system resources like memory or stack space, leading to crashes or denial-of-service.
CWE-711Weaknesses in OWASP Top Ten (2004)CWE entries in this view (graph) are associated with the OWASP Top Ten, as released in 2004, and as required for compliance with PCI DSS version 1.1. This view is considered obsolete as a newer version of the OWASP Top Ten is available.
Vulnerability Mapping Notes
Usage: Prohibited
Reasons: Category
Rationale:
This entry is a Category. Using categories for mapping has been discouraged since 2019. Categories are informal organizational groupings of weaknesses that can help CWE users with data aggregation, navigation, and browsing. However, they are not weaknesses in themselves.
Comment:
See member weaknesses of this category.