How do you prevent CAPEC-188?

Employ code obfuscation techniques to prevent the adversary from reverse engineering the targeted entity.

What weaknesses does CAPEC-188 target?

CAPEC-188 exploits 1 CWE weakness, including CWE-1278 (Missing Protection Against Hardware Reverse Engineering Using Integrated Circuit (IC) Imaging Techniques).

How severe is CAPEC-188?

MITRE rates CAPEC-188 as Low severity with low likelihood of attack.

RadicalNotion.AI

Log in Start free

Log in

Log in Start free

Meta attack pattern

Stable

CAPEC-188: Reverse Engineering

An adversary discovers the structure, function, and composition of an object, resource, or system by using a variety of analysis techniques to effectively determine how the analyzed entity was constructed or operates. The goal of reverse engineering is often to duplicate the function, or a part of the function, of an object in order to duplicate or "back engineer" some aspect of its functioning. Reverse engineering techniques can be applied to mechanical objects, electronic devices, or software, although the methodology and techniques involved in each type of analysis differ widely.

Last updated June 1, 2026

Low

Typical severity

Per MITRE

Low

Likelihood of attack

Per MITRE

1

Related weaknesses

CWEs this targets

Overview

CAPEC-188 (Reverse Engineering) is a meta-level attack pattern catalogued by MITRE in the Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC). It describes a recurring method attackers use to exploit software weaknesses.

What the attacker needs

Prerequisites

Access to targeted system, resources, and information.

Skills required

High skill: Understanding of low level programming languages or technologies can be very helpful. For example, when reverse engineering a binary file, an understanding of assembly languages can help to determine the purpose and inner-workings of the code. Another example is reverse engineering an application that relies on networking. Here, an understanding networking protocols can provide insight into application details.

Resources required

The technical resources necessary to engage in reverse engineering differ in accordance with the type of object, resource, or system being analyzed.

How to mitigate it

Defenses that reduce the risk of CAPEC-188.

Employ code obfuscation techniques to prevent the adversary from reverse engineering the targeted entity.

Examples

When adversaries are reverse engineering software, methodologies fall into two broad categories, 'white box' and 'black box.' White box techniques involve methods which can be applied to a piece of software when an executable or some other compiled object can be directly subjected to analysis, revealing at least a portion of its machine instructions that can be observed upon execution. 'Black Box' methods involve interacting with the software indirectly, in the absence of the ability to measure, instrument, or analyze an executable object directly. Such analysis typically involves interacting with the software at the boundaries of where the software interfaces with a larger execution environment, such as input-output vectors, libraries, or APIs.

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about CAPEC-188.

What is CAPEC-188?: An adversary discovers the structure, function, and composition of an object, resource, or system by using a variety of analysis techniques to effectively determine how the analyzed entity was constructed or operates. The goal of reverse engineering is often to duplicate the function, or a part of the function, of an object in order to duplicate or "back engineer" some aspect of its functioning. Reverse engineering techniques can be applied to mechanical objects, electronic devices, or software, although the methodology and techniques involved in each type of analysis differ widely.
How do you prevent CAPEC-188?: Employ code obfuscation techniques to prevent the adversary from reverse engineering the targeted entity.
What weaknesses does CAPEC-188 target?: CAPEC-188 exploits 1 CWE weakness, including CWE-1278 (Missing Protection Against Hardware Reverse Engineering Using Integrated Circuit (IC) Imaging Techniques).
How severe is CAPEC-188?: MITRE rates CAPEC-188 as Low severity with low likelihood of attack.

References

Attack-pattern data is sourced from the MITRE CAPEC catalog (v3.9). Weakness associations link to the corresponding CWE entries on RadicalNotion.AI.

Defend against CAPEC-188

Track the CVEs and weaknesses attackers exploit with this technique, with AI-written analysis and remediation guidance.

Start free See pricing