CWE-460

Improper Cleanup on Thrown Exception
AI Translation Available

The product does not clean up its state or incorrectly cleans up its state when an exception is thrown, leading to unexpected state or control flow.

Status
draft
Abstraction
base
Likelihood
medium
C C# C++ Java

Often, when functions or loops become complicated, some level of resource cleanup is needed throughout execution. Exceptions can disturb the flow of the code and prevent the necessary cleanup from happening.

Common Consequences

other
Impacts
varies by context

Detection Methods

automated static analysis

Potential Mitigations

Phases:
implementation
Descriptions:
• If one breaks from a loop or function by throwing an exception, make sure that cleanup happens or that you should exit the program. Use throwing exceptions sparsely.