CWE-707: Improper Neutralization
The product does not ensure or incorrectly ensures that structured messages or data are well-formed and that certain security properties are met before being read from an upstream component or sent to a downstream component.
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Overview
If a message is malformed, it may cause the message to be incorrectly interpreted. Neutralization is an abstract term for any technique that ensures that input (and output) conforms with expectations and is "safe." This can be done by: checking that the input/output is already "safe" (e.g. validation) transformation of the input/output to be "safe" using techniques such as filtering, encoding/decoding, escaping/unescaping, quoting/unquoting, or canonicalization preventing the input/output from being directly provided by an attacker (e.g. "indirect selection" that maps externally-provided values to internally-controlled values) preventing the input/output from being processed at all This weakness typically applies in cases where the product prepares a control message that another process must act on, such as a command or query, and malicious input that was intended as data, can enter the control plane instead. However, this weakness also applies to more general cases where there are not always control implications.
Real-world CVEs
215 recorded CVEs are caused by CWE-707 (Improper Neutralization), including 2 in CISA's KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) catalog. KEVs are shown first. 15 new CWE-707 CVEs have been recorded so far in 2026 (6 in 2025).
- CVE-2024-43572CISA KEV
Microsoft Management Console Remote Code Execution Vulnerability
High · CVSS 8.4 · EPSS 99th2024-10-08 - CVE-2025-26633CISA KEV
Microsoft Management Console Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability
High · CVSS 7.1 · EPSS 98th2025-03-11 - CVE-2022-4726
SourceCodester Sanitization Management System Admin Login sql injection
Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 35th2022-12-24 - CVE-2021-4262Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 47th2022-12-19
- CVE-2021-4261Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 45th2022-12-19
- CVE-2022-4592Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 37th2022-12-18
- CVE-2021-4246Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 41th2022-12-17
- CVE-2022-4566Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 53th2022-12-16
- CVE-2022-4454Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 39th2022-12-13
- CVE-2022-4399Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 50th2022-12-10
- CVE-2022-4375Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 85th2022-12-09
- CVE-2022-4275Critical · CVSS 9.8 · EPSS 46th2022-12-03
Showing 12 of 215 recorded CWE-707 CVEs. Track new ones as they are published and get AI-written analysis and fixes.
Monitor CWE-707 vulnerabilitiesCommon consequences
What can happen when CWE-707 is exploited.
Other
Affects: Other
How it happens
When it is introduced
Typically introduced during these phases of the software lifecycle.
How to detect it
Automated Static Analysis
Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
Attack patterns
CAPEC attack patterns that exploit this weakness.
- CAPEC-250: XML Injection
- CAPEC-276: Inter-component Protocol Manipulation
- CAPEC-277: Data Interchange Protocol Manipulation
- CAPEC-278: Web Services Protocol Manipulation
- CAPEC-279: SOAP Manipulation
- CAPEC-3: Using Leading 'Ghost' Character Sequences to Bypass Input Filters
- CAPEC-43: Exploiting Multiple Input Interpretation Layers
- CAPEC-468: Generic Cross-Browser Cross-Domain Theft
- CAPEC-52: Embedding NULL Bytes
- CAPEC-53: Postfix, Null Terminate, and Backslash
- CAPEC-64: Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic
- CAPEC-7: Blind SQL Injection
- CAPEC-78: Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding
- CAPEC-79: Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding
- CAPEC-83: XPath Injection
- CAPEC-84: XQuery Injection
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about CWE-707.
- What is CWE-707?
- The product does not ensure or incorrectly ensures that structured messages or data are well-formed and that certain security properties are met before being read from an upstream component or sent to a downstream component.
- What CVEs are caused by CWE-707?
- 215 recorded CVEs are attributed to CWE-707, including CVE-2024-43572, CVE-2025-26633, CVE-2022-4726. 2 are listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
- How is CWE-707 detected?
- Automated Static Analysis: Automated static analysis, commonly referred to as Static Application Security Testing (SAST), can find some instances of this weakness by analyzing source code (or binary/compiled code) without having to execute it. Typically, this is done by building a model of data flow and control flow, then searching for potentially-vulnerable patterns that connect "sources" (origins of input) with "sinks" (destinations where the data interacts with external components, a lower layer such as the OS, etc.)
- What are the consequences of CWE-707?
- Exploiting CWE-707 can lead to: Other.
- Is CWE-707 actively exploited?
- Yes. 2 CWE-707 vulnerabilities are in CISA's KEV catalog of actively exploited flaws, out of 215 recorded CVEs.
References
- MITRE CWE definition (CWE-707) (opens in a new tab)
- CWE-707 vulnerabilities on NVD (opens in a new tab)
- Learn: What is a CWE?
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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