Cyber Resilience

CWE · MITRE source

CWE-203Observable Discrepancy

Abstraction: Base · CVEs in our corpus: 763

The product behaves differently or sends different responses under different circumstances in a way that is observable to an unauthorized actor.

Last updated: 20 August 2026 20:22 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: partial · 1 mapping(s) from 1 framework(s): CAPEC 1 (partial)

See the full cumulative-coverage rollup →

Control responseHuman-reviewed

Answering this weakness across the control lifecycle, from our framework cross-walks.

Prevent
Stop it (NIST 800-53 / CSF Protect)
  • SC-30 Concealment and Misdirection
  • SC-31 Covert Channel Analysis
  • SI-11 Error Handling
  • PR.PS-06
Detect
Catch it (CSF Detect / Respond)

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Harden
Shrink the surface (DISA STIG)
  • 1 hardening rule · 1 OS baseline
Validate
Prove the fix (OWASP ASVS)

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NIST 800-53 r5 controls that address this weakness (3)AI-assisted

Control Title Family Why it addresses this CWE
SC-30Concealment and MisdirectionSCMisdirection can normalize or falsify responses to eliminate observable discrepancies that aid reconnaissance.
SC-31Covert Channel AnalysisSCObservable discrepancies in system behavior can be modulated to create covert storage or timing channels; the required analysis detects and constrains such avenues.
SI-11Error HandlingSIPrevents attackers from using observable differences in error responses to infer internal system details or state.

Top CVEs of this weakness type, ranked by Risk Priority

CVE Risk CVSS EPSS Published
CVE-2019-10071 8.19.80.08752019-09-16
CVE-2023-28770 8.17.50.57782023-04-27
CVE-2022-23303 7.89.80.03052022-01-17
CVE-2022-23304 7.79.80.01902022-01-17
CVE-2018-1000884 7.69.80.01292018-12-20
CVE-2024-23771 7.59.80.01062024-01-22
CVE-2024-25189 7.59.80.00952024-02-08
CVE-2024-25190 7.59.80.00902024-02-08
CVE-2024-25191 7.59.80.00892024-02-08
CVE-2024-39891 KEV 7.55.30.01672024-07-02
CVE-2023-40756 7.49.80.00752023-08-28
CVE-2024-25714 7.49.80.00812024-02-11
CVE-2025-27667 7.49.80.00642025-03-05
CVE-2025-39702 7.39.80.00422025-09-05
CVE-2026-23519 7.39.80.00522026-01-15
CVE-2019-25337 7.39.80.00412026-02-12
CVE-2017-13098 7.27.50.24282017-12-13
CVE-2017-13099 7.27.50.24922017-12-13
CVE-2022-40895 7.29.10.01692022-10-06
CVE-2024-47678 7.19.40.00612024-10-21
CVE-2003-0190 7.00.00.76752003-05-12
CVE-2017-5715 7.05.60.74212018-01-04
CVE-2017-5753 7.05.60.92622018-01-04
CVE-2018-3639 7.05.50.60632018-05-22
CVE-2023-26556 7.09.10.00862023-04-21