diff --git a/cpp/ql/src/Critical/NewFreeMismatch.ql b/cpp/ql/src/Critical/NewFreeMismatch.ql
index 19b9b197214a..7443ad97731e 100644
--- a/cpp/ql/src/Critical/NewFreeMismatch.ql
+++ b/cpp/ql/src/Critical/NewFreeMismatch.ql
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
  * @id cpp/new-free-mismatch
  * @tags reliability
  *       security
- *       external/cwe/cwe-401
+ *       external/cwe/cwe-762
  */
 
 import NewDelete
diff --git a/cpp/ql/src/change-notes/2026-07-13-new-free.md b/cpp/ql/src/change-notes/2026-07-13-new-free.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..aef5a58aa480
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cpp/ql/src/change-notes/2026-07-13-new-free.md
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+category: queryMetadata
+---
+* Added the tag `external/cwe/cwe-762` to `cpp/new-free-mismatch`, and removed the tag `external/cwe/cwe-401`. This better matches the behavior of the query.