Dead Code

Draft Base

Structure: Simple

Description

The product contains dead code, which can never be executed.

Extended Description

Dead code is code that can never be executed in a running program. The surrounding code makes it impossible for a section of code to ever be executed.

Common Consequences 2

Scope: Other

Impact: Quality Degradation

Dead code that results from code that can never be executed is an indication of problems with the source code that needs to be fixed and is an indication of poor quality.

Scope: Other

Impact: Reduce Maintainability

Detection Methods 7

Architecture or Design ReviewHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Inspection (IEEE 1028 standard) (can apply to requirements, design, source code, etc.) Formal Methods / Correct-By-Construction ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Attack Modeling

Automated Static Analysis - Binary or BytecodeHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Binary / Bytecode Quality Analysis Compare binary / bytecode to application permission manifest

Dynamic Analysis with Manual Results InterpretationSOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Automated Monitored Execution

Automated Static AnalysisSOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Permission Manifest Analysis

Automated Static Analysis - Source CodeHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Source Code Quality Analyzer ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Warning Flags Source code Weakness Analyzer Context-configured Source Code Weakness Analyzer

Dynamic Analysis with Automated Results InterpretationSOAR Partial

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Web Application Scanner Web Services Scanner Database Scanners

Manual Static Analysis - Source CodeHigh

According to SOAR [REF-1479], the following detection techniques may be useful: ``` Highly cost effective: ``` Manual Source Code Review (not inspections) ``` Cost effective for partial coverage: ``` Focused Manual Spotcheck - Focused manual analysis of source

Potential Mitigations 2

Phase: Implementation

Remove dead code before deploying the application.

Phase: Testing

Use a static analysis tool to spot dead code.

Demonstrative Examples 3

ID : DX-217

The condition for the second if statement is impossible to satisfy. It requires that the variables be non-null. However, on the only path where s can be assigned a non-null value, there is a return statement.

Code Example:Bad
C++
c++

In the following class, two private methods call each other, but since neither one is ever invoked from anywhere else, they are both dead code.

Code Example:Bad
Java
java

(In this case it is a good thing that the methods are dead: invoking either one would cause an infinite loop.)

The field named glue is not used in the following class. The author of the class has accidentally put quotes around the field name, transforming it into a string constant.

Code Example:Bad
Java
java

Observed Examples 1

CVE-2014-1266chain: incorrect "goto" in Apple SSL product bypasses certificate validation, allowing Adversary-in-the-Middle (AITM) attack (Apple "goto fail" bug). Incorrect Control Flow Scoping (Incorrect Control Flow Scoping) -> Dead Code (Dead Code) -> Improper Certificate Validation (Improper Certificate Validation) -> Return of Wrong Status Code (Return of Wrong Status Code) -> Channel Accessible by Non-Endpoint (Channel Accessible by Non-Endpoint).

References 2

Automated Source Code Maintainability Measure (ASCMM)

Object Management Group (OMG)

01-2016

https://www.omg.org/spec/ASCMM/(2023-04-07)

ID: REF-960

State-of-the-Art Resources (SOAR) for Software Vulnerability Detection, Test, and Evaluation

Gregory Larsen, E. Kenneth Hong Fong, David A. Wheeler, and Rama S. Moorthy

07-2014

https://www.ida.org/-/media/feature/publications/s/st/stateoftheart-resources-soar-for-software-vulnerability-detection-test-and-evaluation/p-5061.ashx(2025-09-05)

ID: REF-1479

Applicable Platforms

Languages:

Not Language-Specific : Undetermined

Modes of Introduction

Implementation

Related Weaknesses

ChildOf:

Irrelevant Code (CWE-1164)

Taxonomy Mapping

CERT C Secure Coding
SEI CERT Perl Coding Standard
Software Fault Patterns
OMG ASCMM