CWE-456: Missing Initialization of a Variable
Sources read 2026-10-29. MITRE's own page · All weakness notes · Added to CISA's list in the last seven days
What it is
From MITRE's CWE catalogue
The product does not initialize critical variables.
MITRE classes it as a variant-level weakness.
What it lets an attacker do
From MITRE's CWE catalogue
- Unexpected State, Quality Degradation, Varies by Context (affects: integrity, other)
On CISA's exploited list
From CISA's exploited list
1 of the 108 entries CISA added from 2026-08-02 to 2026-10-30 name CWE-456, against 0 of 69 in the 90 days before. Over the whole catalogue 1 entries name it. The counts are small, so read them as a rough order, not a rate.
CISA's list is not every flaw that is exploited: it holds the ones CISA has evidence of, listed on the day it added them.
- CVE-2026-46300, Linux Kernel, added 2026-10-28
How MITRE says to find it
From MITRE's CWE catalogue
- Automated Static Analysis
What MITRE suggests
From MITRE's CWE catalogue
These are MITRE's suggestions, quoted as it gives them. They are not a complete fix and not a substitute for reading the vendor's advisory for the product you run.
- Implementation: Ensure that critical variables are initialized before first use [REF-1485].
- Requirements: Choose a language that is not susceptible to these issues.
Start with one piece of work.
Give us one piece of work and read access to one system. We map it and come back with what we found, what we would build and what it would take — before any commitment. You decide using our output, not our pitch.
Talk to us