Common Weakness Enumeration

CWE-464

Weakness Allowed

Addition of Data Structure Sentinel

Abstraction: Base · Status: Incomplete

API response cwe.mitre.org

The accidental addition of a data-structure sentinel can cause serious programming logic problems.

Data-structure sentinels are often used to mark the structure of data. A common example of this is the null character at the end of strings or a special sentinel to mark the end of a linked list. It is dangerous to allow this type of control data to be easily accessible. Therefore, it is important to protect from the addition or modification of sentinels.

Dimensions

  • Behavior-Type: Addition
  • Code-Type: Data Structure Sentinel
Mapping guidance

This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.

Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

Relationships and members
ChildOf: CWE-138 · View CWE-1000
Modes of introduction
Implementation
Content history
Submission: CLASP · 2006-07-19 · CWE Draft 3
Contribution: Jason Xu · 2024-07-20 · CWE 4.17

Reported compilation error with demonstrative example.

Modification: Eric Dalci · Cigital · 2008-07-01 · CWE 1.0

updated Time_of_Introduction

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2008-09-08 · CWE 1.0

updated Applicable_Platforms, Common_Consequences, Relationships, Other_Notes, Taxonomy_Mappings

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2008-11-24 · CWE 1.1

updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2009-07-27 · CWE 1.5

updated Demonstrative_Examples, Description, Other_Notes, Potential_Mitigations, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2011-06-01 · CWE 1.13

updated Common_Consequences

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2011-06-27 · CWE 2.0

updated Common_Consequences

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2011-09-13 · CWE 2.1

updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2012-05-11 · CWE 2.2

updated Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2012-10-30 · CWE 2.3

updated Potential_Mitigations

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2014-07-30 · CWE 2.8

updated Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2017-11-08 · CWE 3.0

updated Demonstrative_Examples, Likelihood_of_Exploit, Taxonomy_Mappings

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2020-02-24 · CWE 4.0

updated References, Relationships

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2023-04-27 · CWE 4.11

updated Relationships, Time_of_Introduction

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2023-06-29 · CWE 4.12

updated Mapping_Notes

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2025-04-03 · CWE 4.17

updated Demonstrative_Examples

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2025-12-11 · CWE 4.19

updated Demonstrative_Examples, Weakness_Ordinalities

Modification: CWE Content Team · MITRE · 2026-10-28 · CWE 5.0

updated Dimensions

0 vulnerabilities reference this CWE, most recent first.

No vulnerabilities reference this CWE.

Mitigation
Implementation Architecture and Design

Encapsulate the user from interacting with data sentinels. Validate user input to verify that sentinels are not present.

Mitigation
Implementation

Proper error checking can reduce the risk of inadvertently introducing sentinel values into data. For example, if a parsing function fails or encounters an error, it might return a value that is the same as the sentinel.

Mitigation
Architecture and Design

Use an abstraction library to abstract away risky APIs. This is not a complete solution.

Mitigation
Operation

Use OS-level preventative functionality. This is not a complete solution.

No CAPEC attack patterns related to this CWE.

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