The web application does not restrict or incorrectly restricts frame objects or UI layers that belong to another application or domain, which can lead to user confusion about which interface the user is interacting with.
A web application is expected to place restrictions on whether it is allowed to be rendered within frames, iframes, objects, embed or applet elements. Without the restrictions, users can be tricked into interacting with the application when they were not intending to.

Primary

Clickjacking

UI Redress Attack

Tapjacking
"Tapjacking" is similar to clickjacking, except it is used for mobile applications in which the user "taps" the application instead of performing a mouse click.

Implementation

Access Control
Gain Privileges or Assume Identity
Bypass Protection Mechanism
Read Application Data
Modify Application Data
An attacker can trick a user into performing actions that are masked and hidden from the user's view. The impact varies widely, depending on the functionality of the underlying application. For example, in a social media application, clickjacking could be used to trik the user into changing privacy settings.

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

Implementation

The use of X-Frame-Options allows developers of web content to restrict the usage of their application within the form of overlays, frames, or iFrames. The developer can indicate from which domains can frame the content.
The concept of X-Frame-Options is well documented, but implementation of this protection mechanism is in development to cover gaps. There is a need for allowing frames from multiple domains.

Implementation

A developer can use a "frame-breaker" script in each page that should not be framed. This is very helpful for legacy browsers that do not support X-Frame-Options security feature previously mentioned.
It is also important to note that this tactic has been circumvented or bypassed. Improper usage of frames can persist in the web application through nested frames. The "frame-breaking" script does not intuitively account for multiple nested frames that can be presented to the user.

Implementation
This defense-in-depth technique can be used to prevent the improper usage of frames in web applications. It prioritizes the valid sources of data to be loaded into the application through the usage of declarative policies. Based on which implementation of Content Security Policy is in use, the developer should use the "frame-ancestors" directive or the "frame-src" directive to mitigate this weakness. Both directives allow for the placement of restrictions when it comes to allowing embedded content.

CVE-2017-7440
E-mail preview feature in a desktop application allows clickjacking attacks via a crafted e-mail message
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-7440

CVE-2017-5697
Hardware/firmware product has insufficient clickjacking protection in its web user interface
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-5697

CVE-2017-4015
Clickjacking in data-loss prevention product via HTTP response header.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-4015

CVE-2016-2496
Tapjacking in permission dialog for mobile OS allows access of private storage using a partially-overlapping window.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2016-2496

CVE-2015-1241
Tapjacking in web browser related to page navigation and touch/gesture events.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2015-1241

CVE-2017-0492
System UI in mobile OS allows a malicious application to create a UI overlay of the entire screen to gain privileges.
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2017-0492

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.

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2017-08-01
2.12
2017-11-08

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2019-06-20
updated Related_Attack_Patterns, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-02-24
updated Applicable_Platforms, Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-06-25
updated Potential_Mitigations

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2020-08-20
updated Related_Attack_Patterns

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2021-10-28
updated Relationships

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-01-31
updated Related_Attack_Patterns

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

CWE Content Team
MITRE
2023-06-29
updated Mapping_Notes

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