The Common Weakness Enumeration

The Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) is a standardized list of software flaws, such as defects in code, architecture, or design, which can lead to vulnerabilities exploited by internal or external forces. These flaws may impact software performance and security, making them crucial for organizations to identify and address. Established in 2005, CWE was developed as a community-driven effort to provide a common baseline for identifying and categorizing software weaknesses. By using CWE, organizations can leverage measurable security technologies to detect, mitigate, and prevent exploitation of their systems. This is especially important as more companies transition to cloud computing. Although CWE is widely used by both government and private sector organizations as a "universal" standard for identifying software weaknesses, it is not yet part of the Security Content Automation Protocol (SCAP). The National Vulnerability Database (NVD) uses CWE to classify Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVEs) based on the type of weakness they represent. CWE employs standardized language and identifiers to provide consistent and reliable data, ensuring that it is accessible to anyone, from researchers to engineers to home users, without restrictions. .