CWE-920: Improper Restriction of Power Consumption

Extended Description

In environments such as embedded or mobile devices, power can be a limited resource such as a battery, which cannot be automatically replenished by the product itself, and the device might not always be directly attached to a reliable power source. If the product uses too much power too quickly, then this could cause the device (and subsequently, the product) to stop functioning until power is restored, or increase the financial burden on the device owner because of increased power costs. Normal operation of an application will consume power. However, in some cases, an attacker could cause the application to consume more power than intended, using components such as: Display CPU Disk I/O GPS Sound Microphone USB interface

Source-backed guidance

Additional facts reviewed against primary or authoritative security sources.

Detect imprecise mappings involving CWE-920

Review mappings to CWE-920, Improper Restriction of Power Consumption, with MITRE's mapping and navigation criteria. Flag any selection that points to a View or Category, remains at a higher abstraction than the available evidence supports, or ignores relevant parent, child, peer, and alternative entries. Treat those findings as mapping-quality defects, correct them before publication, and retain the comparison trail for repeatable audits.

CWE Mapping and Navigation Guidance — MITRE CWE

Prevent CWE-920 through an SSDF control plan

Use NIST SSDF practices to make prevention of CWE-920, Improper Restriction of Power Consumption, 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 Technology

Triage CWE-920 against known exploitation evidence

Use CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog to test whether a vulnerability mapped to CWE-920, Improper Restriction of Power Consumption, 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

Use MITRE taxonomy anchors to review Improper Restriction of Power Consumption

Recorded impacts include DoS: Resource Consumption (Other), and DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart; related weaknesses include CWE-400. Use these source-defined anchors to turn CWE-920 into implementation, review, and verification checks for the affected component.

CWE-920: Improper Restriction of Power Consumption — MITRE CWE

Validate CWE-920 with root-cause mapping checks

Apply MITRE's root-cause mapping quick tips to CWE-920, Improper Restriction of Power Consumption. 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-920: Improper Restriction of Power Consumption?+

CWE-920: Improper Restriction of Power Consumption is a Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) entry maintained by MITRE. The product operates in an environment in which power is a limited resource that cannot be automatically replenished, but the product does not properly restrict the amount of power that its operation consumes. In environments such as embedded or mobile devices, power can be a limited resource such as a battery, which cannot be automatically replenished by the product itself, and the device might not always be directly attached to a reliable power source. If the product uses too much power too quickly, then this could cause the device (and subsequently, the product) to stop functioning until power is restored, or increase the financial burden on the device owner because of increased power costs. Normal operation of an application will consume power. However, in some cases, an attacker could cause the application to consume more power than intended, using components such as: Display CPU Disk I/O GPS Sound Microphone USB interface

What are the security consequences of Improper Restriction of Power Consumption?+

If exploited, CWE-920 (Improper Restriction of Power Consumption) it can compromise Availability, leading to outcomes such as DoS: Resource Consumption (Other) and DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart.

Which programming languages are affected by Improper Restriction of Power Consumption?+

CWE-920 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-920 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-920: Improper Restriction of Power Consumption

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