Class weakness
Draft
CWE-673: External Influence of Sphere Definition
The product does not prevent the definition of control spheres from external actors.
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The product does not prevent the definition of control spheres from external actors.
Last updated
Typically, a product defines its control sphere within the code itself, or through configuration by the product's administrator. In some cases, an external party can change the definition of the control sphere. This is typically a resultant weakness.
1 recorded CVEs are caused by CWE-673 (External Influence of Sphere Definition). The highest-severity and most recent are shown first. 0 new CWE-673 CVEs have been recorded so far in 2026 (1 in 2025).
What can happen when CWE-673 is exploited.
Other
Affects: Other
Typically introduced during these phases of the software lifecycle.
Illustrative examples from MITRE showing how the weakness appears in code.
Consider a blog publishing tool, which might have three explicit control spheres: the creation of articles, only accessible to a "publisher;" commenting on articles, only accessible to a "commenter" who is a registered user; and reading articles, only accessible to an anonymous reader. Suppose that the application is deployed on a web server that is shared with untrusted parties. If a local user can modify the data files that define who a publisher is, then this user has modified the control sphere. In this case, the issue would be resultant from another weakness such as insufficient permissions.
In Untrusted Search Path (CWE-426), a user might be able to define the PATH environment variable to cause the product to search in the wrong directory for a library to load. The product's intended sphere of control would include "resources that are only modifiable by the person who installed the product." The PATH effectively changes the definition of this sphere so that it overlaps the attacker's sphere of control.
Real CVEs that MITRE cites as examples of this weakness.
Common questions about CWE-673.
The product does not prevent the definition of control spheres from external actors.
1 recorded CVEs are attributed to CWE-673, including CVE-2025-30075.
Exploiting CWE-673 can lead to: Other.
1 recorded CVEs are caused by CWE-673; none are currently in CISA's KEV catalog of actively exploited flaws.
Weakness data is sourced from the MITRE CWE catalog (v4.20). CVE associations are aggregated and kept current by RadicalNotion.AI.
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