Understanding CWEs and CVEs: and how they impact your threat models

When it comes to security, vulnerability management plays a critical role in protecting systems and software from exploitation. Most likely, you are already monitoring your vulnerabilities in some form. Two essential elements in this field are Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) and Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE). 

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While both terms are often used interchangeably, they serve distinct purposes. This blog will explore the benefits of CWEs for long-term security resilience and why focusing solely on CVEs may lead to short-sighted results. We will also share which options we offer within IriusRisk Threat Modeling and why they matter. 

What are CWEs and CVEs?

CWEs are a categorized list of software and hardware weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities if exploited. Developed and maintained by the MITRE Corporation, CWEs provide a comprehensive view of the underlying flaws in software architecture, design, and coding practices. They help identify systemic issues that can manifest as vulnerabilities.

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On the other hand, CVE (Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures) is a catalog of publicly known vulnerabilities in software, also developed by MITRE, including those already found and fixed by vendors. Each CVE entry contains specific details about the vulnerability, such as its identification number, brief description, and the affected systems.

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The advantages of focusing on weaknesses

While CVEs deal with individual vulnerabilities, CWEs provide a broader, future-focused view by focusing on weaknesses that can cause multiple vulnerabilities. Here are the key reasons why CWEs offer a strategic approach:

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1. Understanding root causes: CWEs address the underlying flaws that lead to vulnerabilities rather than just focusing on the symptoms. This makes them useful for secure software development. By identifying and mitigating weaknesses at the design or architectural level, organizations can prevent multiple vulnerabilities before they arise.
2. Proactive security posture: CWEs enable organizations to adopt a proactive security strategy. Rather than waiting for vulnerabilities to be disclosed (as with CVEs), developers and security teams can design and code with the knowledge of common weaknesses. This shifts security efforts earlier into the software development lifecycle (SDLC), reducing the likelihood of vulnerabilities in production environments.
3. Systematic improvement: Focusing on CWEs fosters continuous improvement. By analyzing and addressing common weaknesses, organizations can refine their processes, frameworks, and code, over time, leading to stronger and more resilient systems. CWEs support long-term security health rather than quick, reactive fixes to emerging vulnerabilities.

The downsides of CWEs

Despite their strategic value, CWEs also have limitations:

1. More abstract: CWEs are higher-level concepts and are not always as immediately actionable as CVEs. While CWEs offer insights into systemic issues, they don’t tell you where or how a specific weakness is currently being exploited.
2. Requires advanced expertise: Understanding CWEs and translating them into actionable security practices requires in-depth security and development expertise. Small or resource-constrained organizations might find it difficult to prioritize CWEs over specific, known vulnerabilities (CVEs) that need immediate action.
3. No immediate threat indicator: CWEs are not linked to known exploits or attacks like CVEs. As a result, they don’t provide the same urgency to patch a critical vulnerability in a live environment. They are not ideal if immediate action is required. 

How Does IriusRisk Use CWEs? 

As an enterprise threat model tool, we focus on the design phase and provide proactive security for businesses building secure by design products from the very beginning. Within our software, once a threat model has been created, the user can see the associated Threats, as well as the Weaknesses, which are categorized by CWEs in the Countermeasures view. This gives a structured way to take action in the form of security controls. For example, it may show in your threat model there are two countermeasures in relation to CWE-778: Insufficient Logging, that require action taken to mitigate. 

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IriusRisk then provides recommendations to mitigate the weaknesses to support the user in case security knowledge is lacking. CWEs can be used to inform design, coding standards, and secure development practices. By addressing weaknesses early, organizations can minimize vulnerabilities before they are introduced into production.

Prioritizing long-term security

In a world where new vulnerabilities emerge daily, focusing solely on CVEs leaves organizations in a reactive position. CWEs, on the other hand, offer a proactive, strategic approach by addressing the weaknesses that underlie many vulnerabilities. For security professionals, the key lies in balancing both - leveraging CWEs for systematic improvement and long-term security, while keeping CVEs in focus for immediate responses to real-world threats. By adopting this balanced approach, organizations can enhance their overall security posture and move from reactive to proactive vulnerability management.

What Next? 

You may also like to read these related blogs:

Threat Modeling vs Vulnerability Management 

Secure by Design and Threat Modeling 

Or find out more about our Threat Modeling Tool here.