A provision in a debt agreement/ loan (e.g., mortgage or deed of trust, obligation) that stipulates that, in case of a breach of terms or default under the lending documents of one obligation, default under other obligations will automatically be triggered, leading to a situation where a default sets in motion other defaults.

Cross default (or cross collateralization), as a provision, can be used as a credit enhancement, where a collection of assets belonging to the same owner might be both cross-defaulted and cross-collateralized under the same lending agreement.