When an exception is thrown and not caught, the process has given up an opportunity to decide if a given failure or event is worth a change in execution.
Handle all possible situations (e.g. error condition).
If an operation can throw an Exception, implement a handler for that specific exception.
No detection method information available for this CWE.
If a Servlet does not catch all exceptions, it may reveal debugging information that will help an adversary form a plan of attack. In the following method a DNS lookup failure will cause the Servlet to throw an exception.
When a Servlet throws an exception, the default error response the Servlet container sends back to the user typically includes debugging information. This information is of great value to an attacker.
SDK for OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) is missing a handler for when a cast fails, allowing for a crash
View DetailsNo relationship information available for this CWE.
CWE-431: Missing Handler is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. A handler is not available or implemented. When an exception is thrown and not caught, the process has given up an opportunity to decide if a given failure or event is worth a change in execution.
If exploited, CWE-431 (Missing Handler) it can compromise Other, leading to outcomes such as Varies by Context.
Recommended mitigations for CWE-431 include: Handle all possible situations (e.g. error condition). If an operation can throw an Exception, implement a handler for that specific exception.
CWE-431 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.
MITRE documents real CVEs mapped to CWE-431, including CVE-2022-25302. You can look up the full details of each CVE, including CVSS scores and remediation guidance, on our CVE Lookup tool.
A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-431 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.