CWE-561βDead Code
PUBLISHEDweakness record
released 2006-07-19 Β· last modified 2026-04-30
Metadata
- CWE ID:
- CWE-561
- Abstraction:
- Base
- Structure:
- Simple
- Status:
- Draft
- Release Date:
- 2006-07-19
- Latest Modification Date:
- 2026-04-30
Description
The product contains dead code, which can never be executed.
Dead code is code that can never be executed in a running program. The surrounding code makes it impossible for a section of code to ever be executed.
Common Consequences
- Scope:
- Other
- Impact:
- Quality Degradation
- Notes:
- Dead code that results from code that can never be executed is an indication of problems with the source code that needs to be fixed and is an indication of poor quality.
- Scope:
- Other
- Impact:
- Reduce Maintainability