CWE-685 Variante Borrador

Function Call With Incorrect Number of Arguments

This weakness occurs when a program calls a function, method, or subroutine but provides the wrong number of arguments—either too many or too few. This mismatch can cause the program to behave…

Definición

What is CWE-685?

This weakness occurs when a program calls a function, method, or subroutine but provides the wrong number of arguments—either too many or too few. This mismatch can cause the program to behave unpredictably, access incorrect memory, or crash, creating a security vulnerability.
When a function is called with an incorrect argument count, the underlying system mechanics break down. The calling code and the function have mismatched expectations about how data is arranged on the stack or in registers. This can lead to the function reading invalid values, interpreting data incorrectly (like treating a string as a pointer), or corrupting adjacent memory. The immediate result is often undefined behavior, which can manifest as crashes, data corruption, or unexpected program flow. From a security perspective, this flaw is a gateway for more severe exploits. An attacker might manipulate this mismatch to leak sensitive data from memory, bypass security checks, or execute arbitrary code. It's commonly seen in languages that don't enforce strict type checking at compile-time (like C or C++), in cases of incorrect function pointer usage, or when interfacing with external libraries. Developers must ensure function signatures are always correctly matched, especially when using dynamic linking or callback mechanisms.
Impacto en el mundo real

Real-world CVEs caused by CWE-685

Todavía no hay CVEs públicos enlazados a esta CWE en el catálogo de MITRE.

Cómo lo explotan los atacantes

Ruta del atacante paso a paso

  1. 1

    Identifica una ruta de código que maneje entrada no confiable sin validación.

  2. 2

    Crea un payload que ejercite el comportamiento inseguro — inyección, traversal, overflow o abuso de lógica.

  3. 3

    Envía el payload a través de una solicitud normal y observa la reacción de la aplicación.

  4. 4

    Itera hasta que la respuesta filtre datos, ejecute código del atacante o escale privilegios.

Ejemplo de código vulnerable

Vulnerable pseudo

MITRE no ha publicado un ejemplo de código para esta CWE. El patrón siguiente es ilustrativo — consulta Recursos para referencias canónicas.

Vulnerable pseudo 
// Example pattern — see MITRE for the canonical references.
function handleRequest(input) {
  // Untrusted input flows directly into the sensitive sink.
  return executeUnsafe(input);
}
Ejemplo de código seguro

Secure pseudo

Seguro pseudo 
// Validate, sanitize, or use a safe API before reaching the sink.
function handleRequest(input) {
  const safe = validateAndEscape(input);
  return executeWithGuards(safe);
}
What changed: the unsafe sink is replaced (or the input is validated/escaped) so the same payload no longer triggers the weakness.
Lista de prevención

How to prevent CWE-685

  • Testing Because this function call often produces incorrect behavior it will usually be detected during testing or normal operation of the product. During testing exercise all possible control paths will typically expose this weakness except in rare cases when the incorrect function call accidentally produces the correct results or if the provided argument type is very similar to the expected argument type.
Señales de detección

How to detect CWE-685

Other

While this weakness might be caught by the compiler in some languages, it can occur more frequently in cases in which the called function accepts variable numbers of arguments, such as format strings in C. It also can occur in languages or environments that do not require that functions always be called with the correct number of arguments, such as Perl.

Auto-corrección de Plexicus

Plexicus detecta automáticamente CWE-685 y abre un PR de corrección en menos de 60 segundos.

Codex Remedium escanea cada commit, identifica esta debilidad concreta y entrega un pull request listo para revisión con el parche. Sin tickets. Sin traspasos.

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Preguntas frecuentes

Frequently asked questions

¿Qué es CWE-685?

This weakness occurs when a program calls a function, method, or subroutine but provides the wrong number of arguments—either too many or too few. This mismatch can cause the program to behave unpredictably, access incorrect memory, or crash, creating a security vulnerability.

¿Qué gravedad tiene CWE-685?

MITRE no ha publicado una calificación de probabilidad de explotación para esta debilidad. Trátala como de impacto medio hasta que tu modelo de amenazas demuestre lo contrario.

¿Qué lenguajes o plataformas se ven afectados por CWE-685?

MITRE lists the following affected platforms: C, Perl.

¿Cómo puedo prevenir CWE-685?

Because this function call often produces incorrect behavior it will usually be detected during testing or normal operation of the product. During testing exercise all possible control paths will typically expose this weakness except in rare cases when the incorrect function call accidentally produces the correct results or if the provided argument type is very similar to the expected argument type.

¿Cómo detecta y corrige Plexicus CWE-685?

El motor SAST de Plexicus detecta la firma de flujo de datos para CWE-685 en cada commit. Cuando hay coincidencia, nuestro agente Codex Remedium abre un PR de corrección con el código corregido, las pruebas y un resumen de una línea para el revisor.

¿Dónde puedo aprender más sobre CWE-685?

MITRE publica la definición canónica en https://cwe.mitre.org/data/definitions/685.html. También puedes consultar la documentación de OWASP y NIST para guías relacionadas.

Debilidades relacionadas

Weaknesses related to CWE-685

CWE-628 Padre

Function Call with Incorrectly Specified Arguments

This weakness occurs when a function is called with arguments that are incorrectly specified, causing the function to behave in an…

CWE-683 Hermano

Function Call With Incorrect Order of Arguments

This vulnerability occurs when a program calls a function but supplies the arguments in the wrong order, which can cause unexpected…

CWE-686 Hermano

Function Call With Incorrect Argument Type

This vulnerability occurs when a program calls a function or method but passes an argument of the wrong data type, which can cause…

CWE-687 Hermano

Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value

This vulnerability occurs when a function is called with an argument that holds an incorrect or unexpected value, leading to unintended…

CWE-688 Hermano

Function Call With Incorrect Variable or Reference as Argument

This vulnerability occurs when a function is called with the wrong variable or reference passed as an argument. This simple coding mistake…

Recursos

Further reading

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