The code does not function according to its published specifications, potentially leading to incorrect usage.
When providing functionality to an external party, it is important that the product behaves in accordance with the details specified. When requirements of nuances are not documented, the functionality may produce unintended behaviors for the caller, possibly leading to an exploitable state.

Indirect

Primary

Implementation

Other
Quality Degradation

Implementation
Ensure that your code strictly conforms to specifications.

In the following snippet from a doPost() servlet method, the server returns "200 OK" (default) even if an error occurs.

try {

// Something that may throw an exception.
...
} catch (Throwable t) {logger.error("Caught: " + t.toString());return;}

In the following example, an HTTP 404 status code is returned in the event of an IOException encountered in a Java servlet. A 404 code is typically meant to indicate a non-existent resource and would be somewhat misleading in this case.

try {

// something that might throw IOException
...
} catch (IOException ioe) {response.sendError(SC_NOT_FOUND);}

CVE-2002-1446
Error checking routine in PKCS#11 library returns "OK" status even when invalid signature is detected, allowing spoofed messages.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2002-1446

CVE-2001-1559
Chain: System call returns wrong value (CWE-393), leading to a resultant NULL dereference (CWE-476).
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2001-1559

CVE-2003-0187
Program uses large timeouts on unconfirmed connections resulting from inconsistency in linked lists implementations.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2003-0187

CVE-1999-1446
UI inconsistency; visited URLs list not cleared when "Clear History" option is selected.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-1999-1446

PRE09-C
Do not replace secure functions with less secure functions

Allowed-with-Review
This CWE entry is a Class and might have Base-level children that would be more appropriate
Examine children of this entry to see if there is a better fit

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-04-11
Draft 9
2008-04-11

Eric Dalci
Cigital
2008-07-01
updated Potential_Mitigations, Time_of_Introduction

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-09-08
updated Description, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2008-11-24
updated Relationships, Taxonomy_Mappings

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2010-12-13
updated Potential_Mitigations

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

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2011-06-01
updated Common_Consequences

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2011-06-27
updated Common_Consequences

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2012-05-11
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2014-02-18
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2014-07-30
updated Relationships

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

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2019-01-03
updated Weakness_Ordinalities

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-02-24
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2022-04-28
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-01-31
updated Description

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-04-27
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-06-29
updated Mapping_Notes

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-10-26
updated Demonstrative_Examples, Observed_Examples

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2025-09-09
4.18
2025-09-09
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2025-12-11
4.19
2025-12-11
updated Applicable_Platforms

Failure to Provide Specified Functionality