CWE · MITRE source
CWE-252Unchecked Return Value
The product does not check the return value from a method or function, which can prevent it from detecting unexpected states and conditions.
Two common programmer assumptions are "this function call can never fail" and "it doesn't matter if this function call fails". If an attacker can force the function to fail or otherwise return a value that is not expected, then the subsequent program logic could lead to a vulnerability, because the product is not in a state that the programmer assumes. For example, if the program calls a function to drop privileges but does not check the return code to ensure that privileges were successfully dropped, then the program will continue to operate with the higher privileges.
Last updated: 14 October 2026 20:41 UTC
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
This weakness contributes to A10:2025 Mishandling of Exceptional Conditions.
Control responseHuman-reviewed
Answering this weakness across the control lifecycle, from our framework cross-walks.
NIST 800-53 r5 controls PROPOSED for this weakness (0)AI-assisted
These are model PROPOSALS, not graded mappings. They come
from controls_to_cwe_proposals, which carries no grade field at
all; across the CWE pages 1,540 of 1,722 such associations (89%) have never
been graded by anything. The heading said “address” until
2026-09-29, which asserted a relationship the data does not carry.
Graded cross-walks are on the framework map, not here.
| Control | Title | Family | Why it addresses this CWE |
|---|---|---|---|
| No NIST controls proposed yet. | |||
Top CVEs of this weakness type, ranked by Risk Priority
| CVE | Risk | CVSS | EPSS | Published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
CVE-2007-3798 UPD | 9.8 | 9.8 | 0.7039 | 2007-07-16 |
CVE-2010-0211 UPD | 8.8 | 9.8 | 0.2847 | 2010-07-28 |
CVE-2019-15900 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0211 | 2019-10-18 |
CVE-1999-0199 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0240 | 2020-10-06 |
CVE-2021-38171 UPD | 7.7 | 9.8 | 0.0241 | 2021-08-21 |
CVE-2021-26955 UPD | 7.6 | 9.8 | 0.0173 | 2021-02-09 |
CVE-2023-52687 UPD | 7.4 | 9.8 | 0.0060 | 2024-05-17 |
CVE-2005-4360 UPD | 7.3 | 0.0 | 0.8673 | 2005-12-20 |
CVE-2022-23806 UPD | 7.3 | 9.1 | 0.0307 | 2022-02-11 |
CVE-2025-66565 UPD | 7.3 | 9.8 | 0.0047 | 2025-12-09 |
CVE-2024-50306 UPD | 7.2 | 9.1 | 0.0157 | 2024-11-14 |
CVE-2019-15942 UPD | 6.9 | 8.8 | 0.0202 | 2019-09-05 |
CVE-2021-26958 UPD | 6.9 | 8.8 | 0.0160 | 2021-02-09 |
CVE-2022-23626 UPD | 6.9 | 8.5 | 0.0987 | 2022-02-08 |
CVE-2022-25718 UPD | 6.9 | 9.1 | 0.0044 | 2022-10-19 |
CVE-2020-17533 UPD | 6.7 | 8.1 | 0.0370 | 2020-12-29 |
CVE-2026-22861 | 6.7 | 8.8 | 0.0071 | 2026-01-13 |
CVE-2024-38427 UPD | 6.6 | 8.8 | 0.0053 | 2024-06-16 |
CVE-2019-10902 UPD | 6.5 | 7.5 | 0.0466 | 2019-04-09 |
CVE-2026-22046 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 0.0034 | 2026-01-07 |
CVE-2026-22047 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 0.0038 | 2026-01-07 |
CVE-2026-22255 | 6.5 | 8.8 | 0.0042 | 2026-01-08 |
CVE-2018-14367 UPD | 6.4 | 7.5 | 0.0328 | 2018-07-19 |
CVE-2018-14622 UPD | 6.4 | 7.5 | 0.0386 | 2018-08-30 |
CVE-2018-20216 UPD | 6.4 | 7.5 | 0.0388 | 2018-12-20 |