CWE, also known as Common Weakness Enumeration, refers to a community-developed list of software weaknesses and vulnerabilities that can lead to security flaws within applications. It serves as a dictionary or catalog of software vulnerabilities that can be exploited by attackers.
CWE provides a standardized language for describing and categorizing these weaknesses, making it easier to discuss, share, and analyze security vulnerabilities across different software systems and platforms. The aim of CWE is to help software developers, security professionals, and researchers better understand and identify common vulnerabilities, enabling them to proactively address these weaknesses during the software development lifecycle.
Each entry in the CWE dictionary includes a unique identifier, a brief description of the weakness, and additional information including common consequences and potential mitigations. The list covers a wide range of vulnerabilities, including coding errors, design flaws, and configuration issues that can be exploited to compromise the security of an application or system.
The CWE dictionary is continuously updated and maintained by a community of experts from academia, industry, and government organizations. It serves as an important resource for organizations to improve the security of their software systems by identifying and remediating common vulnerabilities during development, testing, and deployment stages. By understanding and addressing these weaknesses, developers can effectively reduce the risk of security breaches and protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their software applications.
