Class with Excessively Deep Inheritance

Incomplete Base
Structure: Simple
Description

A class has an inheritance level that is too high, i.e., it has a large number of parent classes.

Extended Description

This issue makes it more difficult to understand and maintain the product, which indirectly affects security by making it more difficult or time-consuming to find and/or fix vulnerabilities. It also might make it easier to introduce vulnerabilities. While the interpretation of "large number of parent classes" may vary for each product or developer, CISQ recommends a default maximum of 7 parent classes.

Common Consequences 1
Scope: Other

Impact: Reduce Maintainability

References 1
Automated Source Code Maintainability Measure (ASCMM)
Object Management Group (OMG)
01-2016
ID: REF-960
Taxonomy Mapping
  • OMG ASCMM