The product calls a function, procedure, or routine, but the caller specifies an argument that contains the wrong value, which may lead to resultant weaknesses.
View on MITRENo mitigation information available for this CWE.
This might require an understanding of intended program behavior or design to determine whether the value is incorrect.
This Perl code intends to record whether a user authenticated successfully or not, and to exit if the user fails to authenticate. However, when it calls ReportAuth(), the third argument is specified as 0 instead of 1, so it does not exit.
sub ReportAuth {my ($username, $result, $fatal) = @_;PrintLog("auth: username=%s, result=%d", $username, $result);if (($result ne "success") && $fatal) {die "Failed!\n";}} sub PrivilegedFunc{my $result = CheckAuth($username);ReportAuth($username, $result, 0);DoReallyImportantStuff();}Additional facts reviewed against primary or authoritative security sources.
Documented detection approaches include Manual Static Analysis; recorded impacts include Quality Degradation; related weaknesses include CWE-628. Use these source-defined anchors to turn CWE-687 into implementation, review, and verification checks for the affected component.
CWE-687: Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value — MITRE CWEUse NIST SSDF practices to make prevention of CWE-687, Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value, an explicit development outcome. Translate the CWE definition into security requirements and design constraints, choose safer implementation patterns and toolchain checks, and define acceptance evidence before release. Feed every confirmed occurrence back into the requirements, design review, and coding rules so the same root cause is removed across the product rather than patched in one location.
NIST SP 800-218 Secure Software Development Framework — National Institute of Standards and TechnologyUse CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog to test whether a vulnerability mapped to CWE-687, Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value, 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 AgencyApply MITRE's full root-cause mapping guidance when using CWE-687, Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value. 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 CWEApply MITRE's root-cause mapping quick tips to CWE-687, Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value. 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 CWECWE-687: Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product calls a function, procedure, or routine, but the caller specifies an argument that contains the wrong value, which may lead to resultant weaknesses.
If exploited, CWE-687 (Function Call With Incorrectly Specified Argument Value) it can compromise Other, leading to outcomes such as Quality Degradation.
CWE-687 can be detected using Manual Static Analysis. Combining automated tooling with manual review typically yields the best coverage.
CWE-687 commonly affects Not Language-Specific. Note that weaknesses are often language-agnostic patterns, so secure coding practices apply broadly.
A CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) like CWE-687 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.