CWE-400βUncontrolled Resource Consumption
PUBLISHEDweakness recordHigh
released 2006-07-19 Β· last modified 2026-04-30
Metadata
- CWE ID:
- CWE-400
- Abstraction:
- Class
- Structure:
- Simple
- Status:
- Draft
- Release Date:
- 2006-07-19
- Latest Modification Date:
- 2026-04-30
Weakness Name
Uncontrolled Resource Consumption
Description
The product does not properly control the allocation and maintenance of a limited resource.
Common Consequences
- Scope:
- Availability
- Impact:
- DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, DoS: Resource Consumption (CPU), DoS: Resource Consumption (Memory), DoS: Resource Consumption (Other)
- Notes:
- If an attacker can trigger the allocation of the limited resources, but the number or size of the resources is not controlled, then the most common result is denial of service. This would prevent valid users from accessing the product, and it could potentially have an impact on the surrounding environment, i.e., the product may slow down, crash due to unhandled errors, or lock out legitimate users. For example, a memory exhaustion attack against an application could slow down the application as well as its host operating system.
- Scope:
- Access Control, Other
- Impact:
- Bypass Protection Mechanism, Other
- Notes:
- In some cases it may be possible to force the product to "fail open" in the event of resource exhaustion. The state of the product -- and possibly the security functionality - may then be compromised.
