taint
n.n. a small amount of something bad or illegal that makes a person or thing less trustworthy. In computing, it often refers to a small piece of code that can cause a program to do something dangerous.
n. a small amount of something undesirable or illegal that contaminates a person, object, or system. In a technical context, it refers to a small piece of malicious code that can be used to compromise a system's security.
The software update was suspected of containing a taint.
Security experts discovered a taint in the third-party library that allowed hackers to access user data.
The presence of a taint in the source code can lead to a complete system failure if not detected during the initial compilation phase.
From Middle French teint, from Old French teint (past participle of teindre (“to dye, to tinge”)), from Latin tinctum (past participle of tingere); compare tint.
From Middle English taynt, aphetic form of attaynt, atteynt, from Old French atteinte (“a blow, stroke”). Compare with attaint.
Reportedly from the phrase “'tain't your balls and 'tain't your ass”. Ascribed to E.E. Landy's Underground Dict. (1972) is the following explanation: ‘'taint their ass and 'taint their pussy.’
Contraction of it + ain't.