Weakness (CWE)
CWE-367: Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
The product checks the state of a resource before using that resource, but the resource's state can change between the check and the use in a way that invalidates the results of the check.
How to prevent it (7 mitigations)
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Implementation
The most basic advice for TOCTOU vulnerabilities is to not perform a check before the use. This does not resolve the underlying issue of the execution of a function on a resource whose state and identity cannot be assured, but it does help to limit the false sense of security given by the check.
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Implementation
When the file being altered is owned by the current user and group, set the effective gid and uid to that of the current user and group when executing this statement.
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Architecture and Design
Limit the interleaving of operations on files from multiple processes.
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Implementation, Architecture and Design
If you cannot perform operations atomically and you must share access to the resource between multiple processes or threads, then try to limit the amount of time (CPU cycles) between the check and use of the resource. This will not fix the problem, but it could make it more difficult for an attack to succeed.
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Implementation
Recheck the resource after the use call to verify that the action was taken appropriately.
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Architecture and Design
Ensure that some environmental locking mechanism can be used to protect resources effectively.
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Implementation
Ensure that locking occurs before the check, as opposed to afterwards, such that the resource, as checked, is the same as it is when in use.
Source: MITRE CWE-367
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High 8.1
WordPress Core 4.7.0 - 7.1.3 - Unauthenticated Upgrade-Window Staged-Installer Remote Code Execution
WordPress Core is vulnerable to Remote Code Execution in versions 4.7 through 7.1.3. This is due to predictable, web-accessible staging paths used during full-package core upgrades. This makes it possible for unauthenticated attackers to execute code on the s…
KEV Nov 3, 2026 -
High 7.8
posix-cpu-timers: fix race between handle_posix_cpu_timers() and posix_cpu_timer_del()
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: posix-cpu-timers: fix race between handle_posix_cpu_timers() and posix_cpu_timer_del() If an exiting non-autoreaping task has already passed exit_notify() and calls handle_posix_cpu_timers() …
KEV Sep 4, 2025 -
High 7.0
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
Windows Kernel Elevation of Privilege Vulnerability
KEV Oct 15, 2024 -
High 7.4
libuser before 0.56.13-8 and 0.60 before 0.60-7, as used in the userhelper program in the usermode package, directly mo…
KEV Aug 26, 2026