Description
The program omits a break statement within a switch or similar construct, causing code associated with multiple conditions to execute. This can cause problems when the programmer only intended to execute code associated with one condition.
This can lead to critical code executing in situations where it should not.
Modes of Introduction:
– Implementation
Likelihood of Exploit: Medium
Related Weaknesses
Consequences
Other: Alter Execution Logic
This weakness can cause unintended logic to be executed and other unexpected application behavior.
Potential Mitigations
Phase: Implementation
Description:
Omitting a break statement so that one may fall through is often indistinguishable from an error, and therefore should be avoided. If you need to use fall-through capabilities, make sure that you have clearly documented this within the switch statement, and ensure that you have examined all the logical possibilities.
Phase: Implementation
Description:
The functionality of omitting a break statement could be clarified with an if statement. This method is much safer.