The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer.

What CVEs are caused by CWE-822?

206 recorded CVEs are attributed to CWE-822, including CVE-2023-29360, CVE-2025-24990, CVE-2024-35250. 5 are listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.

What are the consequences of CWE-822?

Exploiting CWE-822 can lead to: Read Memory, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, Modify Memory.

Is CWE-822 actively exploited?

Yes. 5 CWE-822 vulnerabilities are in CISA's KEV catalog of actively exploited flaws, out of 206 recorded CVEs.

CWE-822: Untrusted Pointer Dereference

Overview

An attacker can supply a pointer for memory locations that the product is not expecting. If the pointer is dereferenced for a write operation, the attack might allow modification of critical state variables, cause a crash, or execute code. If the dereferencing operation is for a read, then the attack might allow reading of sensitive data, cause a crash, or set a variable to an unexpected value (since the value will be read from an unexpected memory location). There are several variants of this weakness, including but not necessarily limited to: The untrusted value is directly invoked as a function call. In OS kernels or drivers where there is a boundary between "userland" and privileged memory spaces, an untrusted pointer might enter through an API or system call (see CWE-781 for one such example). Inadvertently accepting the value from an untrusted control sphere when it did not have to be accepted as input at all. This might occur when the code was originally developed to be run by a single user in a non-networked environment, and the code is then ported to or otherwise exposed to a networked environment.

Real-world CVEs

206 recorded CVEs are caused by CWE-822 (Untrusted Pointer Dereference), including 5 in CISA's KEV (Known Exploited Vulnerabilities) catalog. KEVs are shown first. 47 new CWE-822 CVEs have been recorded so far in 2026 (53 in 2025).

Showing 12 of 206 recorded CWE-822 CVEs. Track new ones as they are published and get AI-written analysis and fixes.

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Common consequences

What can happen when CWE-822 is exploited.

Read Memory

Affects: Confidentiality

If the untrusted pointer is used in a read operation, an attacker might be able to read sensitive portions of memory.

DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart

Affects: Availability

If the untrusted pointer references a memory location that is not accessible to the product, or points to a location that is "malformed" or larger than expected by a read or write operation, the application may terminate unexpectedly.

Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, Modify Memory

Affects: Integrity, Confidentiality, Availability

If the untrusted pointer is used in a function call, or points to unexpected data in a write operation, then code execution may be possible.

How it happens

When it is introduced

Typically introduced during these phases of the software lifecycle.

Implementation

Applies to

Languages

Memory-Unsafe

C

C++

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.)

Effectiveness: High

Automated Dynamic Analysis

Use tools that are integrated during compilation to insert runtime error-checking mechanisms related to memory safety errors, such as AddressSanitizer (ASan) for C/C++ [REF-1518].

Effectiveness: Moderate

Illustrative examples

Real CVEs that MITRE cites as examples of this weakness.

CVE-2007-5655 — message-passing framework interprets values in packets as pointers, causing a crash.
CVE-2010-2299 — labeled as a "type confusion" issue, also referred to as a "stale pointer." However, the bug ID says "contents are simply interpreted as a pointer... renderer ordinarily doesn't supply this pointer directly". The "handle" in the untrusted area is replaced in one function, but not another - thus also, effectively, exposure to wrong sphere (CWE-668).
CVE-2009-1719 — Untrusted dereference using undocumented constructor.
CVE-2009-1250 — An error code is incorrectly checked and interpreted as a pointer, leading to a crash.
CVE-2009-0311 — An untrusted value is obtained from a packet and directly called as a function pointer, leading to code execution.
CVE-2010-1818 — Undocumented attribute in multimedia software allows "unmarshaling" of an untrusted pointer.
CVE-2010-3189 — ActiveX control for security software accepts a parameter that is assumed to be an initialized pointer.
CVE-2010-1253 — Spreadsheet software treats certain record values that lead to "user-controlled pointer" (might be untrusted offset, not untrusted pointer).

How this weakness relates to others in the CWE hierarchy.

Parent

CWE-119: Improper Restriction of Operations within the Bounds of a Memory Buffer

Can precede

Attack patterns

CAPEC attack patterns that exploit this weakness.

CAPEC-129: Pointer Manipulation

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about CWE-822.

What is CWE-822?: The product obtains a value from an untrusted source, converts this value to a pointer, and dereferences the resulting pointer.
What CVEs are caused by CWE-822?: 206 recorded CVEs are attributed to CWE-822, including CVE-2023-29360, CVE-2025-24990, CVE-2024-35250. 5 are listed in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog.
How is CWE-822 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-822?: Exploiting CWE-822 can lead to: Read Memory, DoS: Crash, Exit, or Restart, Execute Unauthorized Code or Commands, Modify Memory.
Is CWE-822 actively exploited?: Yes. 5 CWE-822 vulnerabilities are in CISA's KEV catalog of actively exploited flaws, out of 206 recorded CVEs.

References

Weakness data is sourced from the MITRE CWE catalog (v4.20). CVE associations are aggregated and kept current by RadicalNotion.AI.