Base weakness

Draft

CWE-369: Divide By Zero

The product divides a value by zero.

170

Recorded CVEs

With this primary weakness

KEVs

In the CISA KEV catalog

Medium

Likelihood of exploit

Per MITRE

Base

Abstraction

MITRE classification

Overview

This weakness typically occurs when an unexpected value is provided to the product, or if an error occurs that is not properly detected. It frequently occurs in calculations involving physical dimensions such as size, length, width, and height.

Real-world CVEs

170 recorded CVEs are caused by CWE-369 (Divide By Zero). The highest-severity and most recent are shown first. 19 new CWE-369 CVEs have been recorded so far in 2026 (26 in 2025).

Code examples

Illustrative examples from MITRE showing how the weakness appears in code.

The following Java example contains a function to compute an average but does not validate that the input value used as the denominator is not zero. This will create an exception for attempting to divide by zero. If this error is not handled by Java exception handling, unexpected results can occur.

Vulnerable example

java

public int computeAverageResponseTime (int totalTime, int numRequests) {

Safe example

java

public int computeAverageResponseTime (int totalTime, int numRequests) throws ArithmeticException {

By validating the input value used as the denominator the following code will ensure that a divide by zero error will not cause unexpected results. The following Java code example will validate the input value, output an error message, and throw an exception.

The following C/C++ example contains a function that divides two numeric values without verifying that the input value used as the denominator is not zero. This will create an error for attempting to divide by zero, if this error is not caught by the error handling capabilities of the language, unexpected results can occur.

Vulnerable example

double divide(double x, double y){

Safe example

const int DivideByZero = 10;

By validating the input value used as the denominator the following code will ensure that a divide by zero error will not cause unexpected results. If the method is called and a zero is passed as the second argument a DivideByZero error will be thrown and should be caught by the calling block with an output message indicating the error.

The following C# example contains a function that divides two numeric values without verifying that the input value used as the denominator is not zero. This will create an error for attempting to divide by zero, if this error is not caught by the error handling capabilities of the language, unexpected results can occur.

Vulnerable example

csharp

int Division(int x, int y){

Safe example

csharp

int SafeDivision(int x, int y){

The method can be modified to raise, catch and handle the DivideByZeroException if the input value used as the denominator is zero.

CWE-369: Divide By Zero

Overview

Real-world CVEs

Common consequences

How it happens

When it is introduced

How to detect it

Automated Static Analysis

Fuzzing

Code examples

Illustrative examples

Terminology & mappings

Mapped taxonomies

Frequently asked questions

What is CWE-369?

What CVEs are caused by CWE-369?

Is CWE-369 part of the OWASP Top 10?

How is CWE-369 detected?

What are the consequences of CWE-369?

Is CWE-369 actively exploited?

References

Stay ahead of CWE-369

Overview

Real-world CVEs

Common consequences

How it happens

When it is introduced

How to detect it

Automated Static Analysis

Fuzzing

Code examples

Illustrative examples

Related weaknesses

Parent

Terminology & mappings

Mapped taxonomies

Frequently asked questions

What is CWE-369?

What CVEs are caused by CWE-369?

Is CWE-369 part of the OWASP Top 10?

How is CWE-369 detected?

What are the consequences of CWE-369?

Is CWE-369 actively exploited?

References

Stay ahead of CWE-369