CWE-273: Improper Check for Dropped Privileges

Code Examples & CVEs

Demonstrative Examples

This code attempts to take on the privileges of a user before creating a file, thus avoiding performing the action with unnecessarily high privileges:

The call to ImpersonateNamedPipeClient may fail, but the return value is not checked. If the call fails, the code may execute with higher privileges than intended. In this case, an attacker could exploit this behavior to write a file to a location that the attacker does not have access to.

BadC++

bool DoSecureStuff(HANDLE hPipe) {bool fDataWritten = false;ImpersonateNamedPipeClient(hPipe);HANDLE hFile = CreateFile(...);/../RevertToSelf()/../}

Observed CVE Examples (2)

CVE-2006-4447

Program does not check return value when invoking functions to drop privileges, which could leave users with higher privileges than expected by forcing those functions to fail.

View Details

CVE-2006-2916

Program does not check return value when invoking functions to drop privileges, which could leave users with higher privileges than expected by forcing those functions to fail.

View Details

Source-backed guidance

Additional facts reviewed against primary or authoritative security sources.

Verify controls for CWE-273 with SSDF evidence

Use NIST SSDF verification and vulnerability-response practices to detect CWE-273, Improper Check for Dropped Privileges, throughout the product lifecycle. Derive review questions, static or dynamic checks, and negative tests from the CWE's causal behavior; define the components and lifecycle stages each check covers; and retain findings with enough evidence to distinguish the root cause from symptoms and impacts. Track escapes and false negatives, then improve the verification plan after every confirmed occurrence.

NIST SP 800-218 Secure Software Development Framework — National Institute of Standards and Technology

Apply Separation of Privilege controls for Improper Check for Dropped Privileges

MITRE associates mitigation with Architecture and Design, and Implementation; the listed strategies include Separation of Privilege; documented detection approaches include Automated Static Analysis. Use these source-defined anchors to turn CWE-273 into implementation, review, and verification checks for the affected component.

CWE-273: Improper Check for Dropped Privileges — MITRE CWE

Triage CWE-273 against known exploitation evidence

Use CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog to test whether a vulnerability mapped to CWE-273, Improper Check for Dropped Privileges, has evidence of exploitation in the wild. Confirm the CVE-to-CWE root-cause mapping independently before attaching the example, then capture the affected product, required action, and remediation deadline. A missing KEV match is not evidence that the weakness is unexploited, and a KEV entry must not be generalized to every occurrence of this CWE.

Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency

Apply precise root-cause mapping to CWE-273

Apply MITRE's full root-cause mapping guidance when using CWE-273, Improper Check for Dropped Privileges. Separate weakness language from attacker prerequisites and technical impact, check the entry's abstraction and vulnerability-mapping notes, and prefer the most specific Base or Variant supported by the evidence. Record the rejected alternatives and require an independent review before the mapping is used for remediation trends or program metrics.

CVE to CWE Root Cause Mapping Guidance — MITRE CWE

Validate CWE-273 with root-cause mapping checks

Apply MITRE's root-cause mapping quick tips to CWE-273, Improper Check for Dropped Privileges. Confirm the finding describes the causal weakness rather than an impact or attack pattern, compare the abstraction and mapping notes with plausible alternatives, and have a second reviewer challenge the selection. Preserve the evidence and reasoning so recurring defects can be measured against one consistent identifier.

CVE to CWE Root Cause Mapping Quick Tips — MITRE CWE

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CWE-273: Improper Check for Dropped Privileges?+

CWE-273: Improper Check for Dropped Privileges is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product attempts to drop privileges but does not check or incorrectly checks to see if the drop succeeded. If the drop fails, the product will continue to run with the raised privileges, which might provide additional access to unprivileged users.

What are the security consequences of Improper Check for Dropped Privileges?+

If exploited, CWE-273 (Improper Check for Dropped Privileges) it can compromise Access Control and Non-Repudiation, leading to outcomes such as Gain Privileges or Assume Identity and Hide Activities.

How do you prevent or mitigate Improper Check for Dropped Privileges?+

Recommended mitigations for CWE-273 include: In Windows, make sure that the process token has the SeImpersonatePrivilege(Microsoft Server 2003). Code that relies on impersonation for security must ensure that the impersonation succeeded, i.e., that a proper privilege demotion happened.

Which programming languages are affected by Improper Check for Dropped Privileges?+

CWE-273 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.

What are real-world examples of Improper Check for Dropped Privileges?+

MITRE documents real CVEs mapped to CWE-273, including CVE-2006-4447 and CVE-2006-2916. You can look up the full details of each CVE, including CVSS scores and remediation guidance, on our CVE Lookup tool.

What is the difference between a CWE and a CVE?+

A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-273 describes a category of software weakness — the underlying flaw type. A CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) identifies a specific, real-world vulnerability in a particular product. In short, a CWE is the kind of mistake, and a CVE is an instance of that mistake being found in software.

CWE-273: Improper Check for Dropped Privileges

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