CWE-432: Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations

Source-backed guidance

Additional facts reviewed against primary or authoritative security sources.

Verify controls for CWE-432 with SSDF evidence

Use NIST SSDF verification and vulnerability-response practices to detect CWE-432, Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations, 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

Address Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations during Implementation

MITRE associates mitigation with Implementation; recorded impacts include Modify Application Data; related weaknesses include CWE-364. Use these source-defined anchors to turn CWE-432 into implementation, review, and verification checks for the affected component.

CWE-432: Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations — MITRE CWE

Triage CWE-432 against known exploitation evidence

Use CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog to test whether a vulnerability mapped to CWE-432, Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations, 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-432

Apply MITRE's full root-cause mapping guidance when using CWE-432, Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations. 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-432 with root-cause mapping checks

Apply MITRE's root-cause mapping quick tips to CWE-432, Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations. 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-432: Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations?+

CWE-432: Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product uses a signal handler that shares state with other signal handlers, but it does not properly mask or prevent those signal handlers from being invoked while the original signal handler is still running. During the execution of a signal handler, it can be interrupted by another handler when a different signal is sent. If the two handlers share state - such as global variables - then an attacker can corrupt the state by sending another signal before the first handler has completed execution.

What are the security consequences of Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations?+

If exploited, CWE-432 (Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations) it can compromise Integrity, leading to outcomes such as Modify Application Data.

How do you prevent or mitigate Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations?+

Recommended mitigations for CWE-432 include: Turn off dangerous handlers when performing sensitive operations.

Which programming languages are affected by Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations?+

CWE-432 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.

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

A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-432 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-432: Dangerous Signal Handler not Disabled During Sensitive Operations

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