CWE-623: Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting

Source-backed guidance

Additional facts reviewed against primary or authoritative security sources.

Verify controls for CWE-623 with SSDF evidence

Use NIST SSDF verification and vulnerability-response practices to detect CWE-623, Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting, 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 Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting during Architecture and Design

MITRE associates mitigation with Architecture and Design, and System Configuration; recorded impacts include Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands; observed examples include CVE-2007-0617, CVE-2007-0219, and CVE-2006-6510. Use these source-defined anchors to turn CWE-623 into implementation, review, and verification checks for the affected component.

CWE-623: Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting — MITRE CWE

Triage CWE-623 against known exploitation evidence

Use CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog to test whether a vulnerability mapped to CWE-623, Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting, 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-623

Apply MITRE's full root-cause mapping guidance when using CWE-623, Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting. 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-623 with root-cause mapping checks

Apply MITRE's root-cause mapping quick tips to CWE-623, Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting. 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-623: Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting?+

CWE-623: Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. An ActiveX control is intended for restricted use, but it has been marked as safe-for-scripting. This might allow attackers to use dangerous functionality via a web page that accesses the control, which can lead to different resultant vulnerabilities, depending on the control's behavior.

What are the security consequences of Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting?+

If exploited, CWE-623 (Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting) it can compromise Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability, leading to outcomes such as Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands.

How do you prevent or mitigate Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting?+

Recommended mitigations for CWE-623 include: During development, do not mark it as safe for scripting. After distribution, you can set the kill bit for the control so that it is not accessible from Internet Explorer.

Which programming languages are affected by Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting?+

CWE-623 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 Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting?+

MITRE documents real CVEs mapped to CWE-623, including CVE-2007-0617, CVE-2007-0219 and CVE-2006-6510. 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-623 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-623: Unsafe ActiveX Control Marked Safe For Scripting

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