Base weakness
Draft
CWE-395: Use of NullPointerException Catch to Detect NULL Pointer Dereference
Catching NullPointerException should not be used as an alternative to programmatic checks to prevent dereferencing a null pointer.
17
Recorded CVEs
With this primary weakness
0
KEVs
In the CISA KEV catalog
Not rated
Likelihood of exploit
Per MITRE
Base
Abstraction
MITRE classification
Overview
Programmers typically catch NullPointerException under three circumstances: The program contains a null pointer dereference. Catching the resulting exception was easier than fixing the underlying problem. The program explicitly throws a NullPointerException to signal an error condition. The code is part of a test harness that supplies unexpected input to the classes under test. Of these three circumstances, only the last is acceptable.