CWE · MITRE source

CWE-917Improper Neutralization of Special Elements used in an Expression Language Statement ('Expression Language Injection')

Abstraction: Base · CVEs in our corpus: 182

The product constructs all or part of an expression language (EL) statement in a framework such as a Java Server Page (JSP) using externally-influenced input from an upstream component, but it does not neutralize or incorrectly neutralizes special elements that could modify the intended EL statement before it is executed.

Frameworks such as Java Server Page (JSP) allow a developer to insert executable expressions within otherwise-static content. When the developer is not aware of the executable nature of these expressions and/or does not disable them, then if an attacker can inject expressions, this could lead to code execution or other unexpected behaviors.

Last updated: 09 May 2026 03:25 UTC