An exception is thrown from a function, but it is not caught.
When an exception is not caught, it may cause the program to crash or expose sensitive information.

Primary

Implementation

Availability
Confidentiality
DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart
Read Application Data
An uncaught exception could cause the system to be placed in a state that could lead to a crash, exposure of sensitive information or other unintended behaviors.

Automated Static Analysis
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
High

The following example attempts to resolve a hostname.

protected void doPost (HttpServletRequest req, HttpServletResponse res) throws IOException {String ip = req.getRemoteAddr();InetAddress addr = InetAddress.getByName(ip);...out.println("hello " + addr.getHostName());}

A DNS lookup failure will cause the Servlet to throw an exception.

The _alloca() function allocates memory on the stack. If an allocation request is too large for the available stack space, _alloca() throws an exception. If the exception is not caught, the program will crash, potentially enabling a denial of service attack. _alloca() has been deprecated as of Microsoft Visual Studio 2005(R). It has been replaced with the more secure _alloca_s().

EnterCriticalSection() can raise an exception, potentially causing the program to crash. Under operating systems prior to Windows 2000, the EnterCriticalSection() function can raise an exception in low memory situations. If the exception is not caught, the program will crash, potentially enabling a denial of service attack.

CVE-2023-41151
SDK for OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA) server has uncaught exception when a socket is blocked for writing but the server tries to send an error
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-41151

CVE-2023-21087
Java code in a smartphone OS can encounter a "boot loop" due to an uncaught exception
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-21087

Often Misused: Exception Handling

ERR05-J
Do not let checked exceptions escape from a finally block

ERR06-J
Do not throw undeclared checked exceptions

EXP31-PL
Do not suppress or ignore exceptions
Exact

SFP4
Unchecked Status Condition

Allowed
This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.
Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.

7 Pernicious Kingdoms
2006-07-19
Draft 3
2006-07-19

Eric Dalci
Cigital
2008-07-01
updated Time_of_Introduction

Veracode
2008-08-15
Suggested OWASP Top Ten 2004 mapping

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-09-08
updated Applicable_Platforms, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-09-24
Removed C from Applicable_Platforms

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-10-14
updated Applicable_Platforms

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2009-03-10
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2011-03-29
updated Description, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2011-06-01
updated Common_Consequences, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2012-05-11
updated Common_Consequences, Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2014-07-30
updated Demonstrative_Examples, Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2017-11-08
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2019-01-03
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2019-06-20
updated Related_Attack_Patterns

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-02-24
updated References

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-08-20
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-12-10
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2021-03-15
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-04-27
updated Detection_Factors, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-06-29
updated Mapping_Notes, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2024-02-29
4.14
2024-02-29
updated Observed_Examples

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2025-12-11
4.19
2025-12-11
updated Relationships, Weakness_Ordinalities

Often Misused: Exception Handling