CWE · MITRE source
CWE-917Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')
The product constructs all or part of an expression language (EL) statement in a framework such as a Java Server Page (JSP) using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended EL statement before it is executed.
Frameworks such as Java Server Page (JSP) allow a developer to insert executable expressions within otherwise-static content. When the developer is not aware of the executable nature of these expressions and/or does not disable them, then if an attacker can inject expressions, this could lead to code execution or other unexpected behaviors.
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: full · 5 mapping(s) from 3 framework(s): ASVS 5.0 3 (full) · OWASP-Web 1 (full) · ATT&CK 1 (mostly)
OWASP Top 10 for Web (2025)
This weakness contributes to A05:2025 Injection.
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-2010-1871 KEV | 10.0 | 8.8 | 0.8340 | 2010-08-05 |
CVE-2020-10199 KEV | 10.0 | 8.8 | 0.9906 | 2020-04-01 |
CVE-2020-17530 KEV | 10.0 | 9.8 | 0.9592 | 2020-12-11 |
CVE-2021-26084 KEV | 10.0 | 9.8 | 1.0000 | 2021-08-30 |
CVE-2021-44228 KEV | 10.0 | 10.0 | 1.0000 | 2021-12-10 |
CVE-2021-45046 KEV | 10.0 | 9.0 | 0.9998 | 2021-12-14 |
CVE-2022-22947 KEV | 10.0 | 10.0 | 0.9825 | 2022-03-03 |
CVE-2022-22963 KEV | 10.0 | 9.8 | 0.9994 | 2022-04-01 |
CVE-2022-26134 KEV | 10.0 | 9.8 | 1.0000 | 2022-06-03 |
CVE-2019-5355 | 8.0 | 7.5 | 0.5397 | 2019-06-05 |
CVE-2021-31805 | 8.0 | 9.8 | 0.8531 | 2022-04-12 |
CVE-2018-12532 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0705 | 2018-06-18 |
CVE-2018-12533 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.2137 | 2018-06-18 |
CVE-2019-7743 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0267 | 2019-02-12 |
CVE-2019-5916 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0148 | 2019-02-13 |
CVE-2019-5352 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0811 | 2019-06-05 |
CVE-2019-5358 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0811 | 2019-06-05 |
CVE-2019-5387 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0811 | 2019-06-05 |
CVE-2019-11949 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0811 | 2019-06-05 |
CVE-2020-1959 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0482 | 2020-05-04 |
CVE-2020-9296 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0201 | 2020-06-16 |
CVE-2020-9297 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0166 | 2020-07-14 |
CVE-2020-15146 | 7.0 | 9.6 | 0.0215 | 2020-08-20 |
CVE-2020-24650 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0661 | 2020-10-19 |
CVE-2020-24651 | 7.0 | 9.8 | 0.0671 | 2020-10-19 |