CWE-123: Write-what-where Condition
low-riskAny condition where the attacker has the ability to write an arbitrary value to an arbitrary location, often as the result of a buffer overflow.
Common Consequences
Detection Methods
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
Use tools that are integrated during compilation to insert runtime error-checking mechanisms related to memory safety errors, such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) for C/C++ [REF-1518].
Real-World Examples (10)
| CVE | CVSS | EPSS | KEV |
|---|---|---|---|
| CVE-2025-22225 | 8.2 | 10.0% | Y |
| CVE-2024-42479 | 10.0 | 5.7% | — |
| CVE-2024-36877 | 8.2 | 3.4% | — |
| CVE-2020-2001 | 8.1 | 1.5% | — |
| CVE-2024-2607 | 8.1 | 1.5% | — |
| CVE-2014-5435 | 9.8 | 1.4% | — |
| CVE-2017-10994 | 7.3 | 1.3% | — |
| CVE-2015-8271 | 9.8 | 1.2% | — |
| CVE-2022-37904 | 6.6 | 0.8% | — |
| CVE-2025-55298 | 7.5 | 0.8% | — |