CWE · MITRE source
CWE-138Improper Neutralization of Special Elements
The product receives input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could be interpreted as control elements or syntactic markers when they are sent to a downstream component.
Most languages and protocols have their own special elements such as characters and reserved words. These special elements can carry control implications. If product does not prevent external control or influence over the inclusion of such special elements, the control flow of the program may be altered from what was intended. For example, both Unix and Windows interpret the symbol < ("less than") as meaning "read input from a file".
Last updated: 04 July 2026 00:28 UTC
Cumulative inbound coverage
How completely the frameworks we cross-walk collectively cover this — the verdict is the strongest single mapping (overlapping partials are not summed); breadth shows the corroboration behind it.
Collective: mostly · 8 mapping(s) from 2 framework(s): ATT&CK 5 (mostly) · CAPEC 3 (partial)
NIST 800-53 r5 controls that address this weakness (0)AI
| Control | Title | Family | Why it addresses this CWE |
|---|---|---|---|
| No NIST controls proposed yet. | |||
MITRE ATT&CK techniques this weakness enables
Our own two-way CWE↔ATT&CK cross-walk — a direct mapping with no public source (the CWE→CAPEC→ATT&CK chain leaves most top weaknesses, incl. XSS and SQLi, mapped to nothing). Drafted by Grok and spot-checked by Claude Opus 4.8.
Direction: ← other covers this;
→ this covers other (F/M/P = full / mostly /
partial).
Top CVEs of this weakness type, ranked by Risk Priority
| CVE | Risk | CVSS | EPSS | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CVE-2023-42117 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0567 | 2024-05-03 |
CVE-2023-7012 | 7.0 | 9.6 | 0.0032 | 2024-07-16 |
CVE-2022-0024 | 5.5 | 7.2 | 0.0140 | 2022-05-11 |
CVE-2024-38133 | 5.5 | 7.8 | 0.0073 | 2024-08-13 |
CVE-2025-5878 UPD | 5.5 | 7.3 | 0.0040 | 2025-06-29 |
CVE-2026-32178 UPD | 5.5 | 7.5 | 0.0228 | 2026-04-14 |
CVE-2026-26129 UPD | 5.5 | 7.5 | 0.0114 | 2026-05-07 |
CVE-2016-0750 | 3.5 | 4.2 | 0.0240 | 2018-09-11 |
CVE-2022-2429 | 3.5 | 6.5 | 0.0065 | 2022-09-06 |
CVE-2023-22288 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 0.0040 | 2023-03-20 |
CVE-2024-51500 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 0.0040 | 2024-11-04 |
CVE-2025-48939 UPD | 3.5 | 4.2 | 0.0018 | 2025-07-03 |
CVE-2026-20009 | 3.5 | 5.3 | 0.0038 | 2026-03-04 |