CWE - CWE-344: Use of Invariant Value in Dynamically Changing Context (4.19.1)
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    CWE-344: Use of Invariant Value in Dynamically Changing Context

    Weakness ID: 344
    Vulnerability Mapping: ALLOWED This CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities
    Abstraction: Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource.
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    + Description
    The product uses a constant value, name, or reference, but this value can (or should) vary across different environments.
    + Common Consequences
    Section HelpThis table specifies different individual consequences associated with the weakness. The Scope identifies the application security area that is violated, while the Impact describes the negative technical impact that arises if an adversary succeeds in exploiting this weakness. The Likelihood provides information about how likely the specific consequence is expected to be seen relative to the other consequences in the list. For example, there may be high likelihood that a weakness will be exploited to achieve a certain impact, but a low likelihood that it will be exploited to achieve a different impact.
    Impact Details

    Varies by Context

    		Scope: Other

    + Relationships
    Section Help This table shows the weaknesses and high level categories that are related to this weakness. These relationships are defined as ChildOf, ParentOf, MemberOf and give insight to similar items that may exist at higher and lower levels of abstraction. In addition, relationships such as PeerOf and CanAlsoBe are defined to show similar weaknesses that the user may want to explore.
    + Relevant to the view "Research Concepts" (View-1000)
    Nature Type ID Name
    ChildOf Class Class - a weakness that is described in a very abstract fashion, typically independent of any specific language or technology. More specific than a Pillar Weakness, but more general than a Base Weakness. Class level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 1 or 2 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, and resource. 330 Use of Insufficiently Random Values
    ParentOf Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 323 Reusing a Nonce, Key Pair in Encryption
    ParentOf Variant Variant - a weakness that is linked to a certain type of product, typically involving a specific language or technology. More specific than a Base weakness. Variant level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 3 to 5 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 587 Assignment of a Fixed Address to a Pointer
    ParentOf Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 798 Use of Hard-coded Credentials
    ParentOf Base Base - a weakness that is still mostly independent of a resource or technology, but with sufficient details to provide specific methods for detection and prevention. Base level weaknesses typically describe issues in terms of 2 or 3 of the following dimensions: behavior, property, technology, language, and resource. 1188 Initialization of a Resource with an Insecure Default
    + Relevant to the view "Software Development" (View-699)
    Nature Type ID Name
    MemberOf Category Category - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1213 Random Number Issues
    + Modes Of Introduction
    Section HelpThe different Modes of Introduction provide information about how and when this weakness may be introduced. The Phase identifies a point in the life cycle at which introduction may occur, while the Note provides a typical scenario related to introduction during the given phase.
    Phase Note
    Architecture and Design
    Implementation
    + Applicable Platforms
    Section HelpThis listing shows possible areas for which the given weakness could appear. These may be for specific named Languages, Operating Systems, Architectures, Paradigms, Technologies, or a class of such platforms. The platform is listed along with how frequently the given weakness appears for that instance.
    Languages

    Class: Not Language-Specific (Undetermined Prevalence)

    + Demonstrative Examples

    Example 1


    The following code is an example of an internal hard-coded password in the back-end:

    (bad code)
    Example Language: C 
    int VerifyAdmin(char *password) {
    if (strcmp(password, "Mew!")) {
    printf("Incorrect Password!\n");
    return(0)
    }
    printf("Entering Diagnostic Mode...\n");
    return(1);
    }
    (bad code)
    Example Language: Java 
    int VerifyAdmin(String password) {
    if (!password.equals("Mew!")) {
    return(0)
    }
    //Diagnostic Mode
    return(1);
    }

    Every instance of this program can be placed into diagnostic mode with the same password. Even worse is the fact that if this program is distributed as a binary-only distribution, it is very difficult to change that password or disable this "functionality."



    Example 2


    This code assumes a particular function will always be found at a particular address. It assigns a pointer to that address and calls the function.

    (bad code)
    Example Language: C 
    int (*pt2Function) (float, char, char)=0x08040000;
    int result2 = (*pt2Function) (12, 'a', 'b');
    // Here we can inject code to execute.

    The same function may not always be found at the same memory address. This could lead to a crash, or an attacker may alter the memory at the expected address, leading to arbitrary code execution.



    + Selected Observed Examples

    Note: this is a curated list of examples for users to understand the variety of ways in which this weakness can be introduced. It is not a complete list of all CVEs that are related to this CWE entry.

    Reference Description
    Component for web browser writes an error message to a known location, which can then be referenced by attackers to process HTML/script in a less restrictive context
    + Weakness Ordinalities
    Ordinality Description
    Primary
    (where the weakness exists independent of other weaknesses)
    Resultant
    (where the weakness is typically related to the presence of some other weaknesses)
    + Memberships
    Section HelpThis MemberOf Relationships table shows additional CWE Categories and Views that reference this weakness as a member. This information is often useful in understanding where a weakness fits within the context of external information sources.
    Nature Type ID Name
    MemberOf CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 905 SFP Primary Cluster: Predictability
    MemberOf CategoryCategory - a CWE entry that contains a set of other entries that share a common characteristic. 1414 Comprehensive Categorization: Randomness
    + Vulnerability Mapping Notes
    Usage ALLOWED
    (this CWE ID may be used to map to real-world vulnerabilities)
    Reason Acceptable-Use

    Rationale

    		This CWE entry is at the Base level of abstraction, which is a preferred level of abstraction for mapping to the root causes of vulnerabilities.

    Comments

    		Carefully read both the name and description to ensure that this mapping is an appropriate fit. Do not try to 'force' a mapping to a lower-level Base/Variant simply to comply with this preferred level of abstraction.
    + Notes

    Relationship

    overlaps default configuration.
    + Taxonomy Mappings
    Mapped Taxonomy Name Node ID Fit Mapped Node Name
    PLOVER Static Value in Unpredictable Context
    + References
    [REF-267] Information Technology Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology. "FIPS PUB 140-2: SECURITY REQUIREMENTS FOR CRYPTOGRAPHIC MODULES". 2001-05-25.
    <https://csrc.nist.gov/files/pubs/fips/140-2/upd2/final/docs/fips1402.pdf>. (URL validated: 2025-05-21)
    + Content History
    + Submissions
    Submission Date Submitter Organization
    2006-07-19
    (CWE Draft 3, 2006-07-19)     		PLOVER
    + Modifications
    Modification Date Modifier Organization
    2025-12-11
    (CWE 4.19, 2025-12-11)     		CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Relationships
    2025-09-09
    (CWE 4.18, 2025-09-09)     		CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated References
    2024-02-29
    (CWE 4.14, 2024-02-29)     		CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Demonstrative_Examples
    2023-06-29 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Mapping_Notes
    2023-04-27 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated References, Relationships
    2020-02-24 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Relationships
    2017-11-08 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Applicable_Platforms, References, Relevant_Properties
    2014-06-23 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Other_Notes
    2012-10-30 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Potential_Mitigations
    2012-05-11 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Relationships
    2011-09-13 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Potential_Mitigations, References
    2011-06-27 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Common_Consequences
    2011-06-01 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Common_Consequences
    2010-12-13 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Relationships
    2010-06-21 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Potential_Mitigations
    2010-02-16 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Relationships
    2009-12-28 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Potential_Mitigations
    2009-03-10 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Potential_Mitigations
    2008-09-08 CWE Content Team MITRE
    updated Relationships, Other_Notes, Relationship_Notes, Relevant_Properties, Taxonomy_Mappings, Weakness_Ordinalities
    2008-07-01 Eric Dalci Cigital
    updated Time_of_Introduction
    + Previous Entry Names
    Change Date Previous Entry Name
    2008-04-11 Static Value in Unpredictable Context
    Page Last Updated: January 21, 2026