Authentication Bypass
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications.
How It Works
Authentication bypass attacks exploit flaws in the verification mechanisms that control access to systems and applications. Instead of cracking passwords through brute force, attackers manipulate the authentication process itself to gain unauthorized entry. This typically occurs through one of several pathways: exploiting hardcoded credentials embedded in source code or configuration files, manipulating parameters in authentication requests to skip verification steps, or leveraging broken session management that fails to properly validate user identity.
The attack flow often begins with reconnaissance to identify authentication endpoints and their underlying logic. Attackers may probe for default administrative credentials that were never changed, test whether certain URL paths bypass login requirements entirely, or intercept and modify authentication tokens to escalate privileges. In multi-step authentication processes, flaws in state management can allow attackers to complete only partial verification steps while still gaining full access.
More sophisticated variants exploit single sign-on (SSO) or OAuth implementations where misconfigurations in trust relationships allow attackers to forge authentication assertions. Parameter tampering—such as changing a "role=user" field to "role=admin" in a request—can trick poorly designed systems into granting elevated access without proper verification.
Impact
- Complete account takeover — attackers gain full control of user accounts, including administrative accounts, without knowing legitimate credentials
- Unauthorized data access — ability to view, modify, or exfiltrate sensitive information including customer data, financial records, and intellectual property
- System-wide compromise — admin-level access enables installation of backdoors, modification of security controls, and complete infrastructure takeover
- Lateral movement — bypassed authentication provides a foothold for moving deeper into networks and accessing additional systems
- Compliance violations — unauthorized access triggers breach notification requirements and regulatory penalties
Real-World Examples
CrushFTP suffered a critical authentication bypass allowing attackers to access file-sharing functionality without any credentials. The vulnerability enabled direct server-side template injection, leading to remote code execution on affected systems. Attackers actively exploited this in the wild to establish persistent access to enterprise file servers.
Palo Alto's Expedition migration tool contained a flaw permitting attackers to reset administrative credentials without authentication. This allowed complete takeover of the migration environment, potentially exposing network configurations and security policies being transferred between systems.
SolarWinds Web Help Desk (CVE-2024-28987) shipped with hardcoded internal credentials that could not be changed through normal administrative functions. Attackers discovering these credentials gained full administrative access to helpdesk systems containing sensitive organizational information and user data.
Mitigation
- Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA) — requires attackers to compromise additional verification factors beyond bypassed primary authentication
- Eliminate hardcoded credentials — use secure credential management systems and rotate all default credentials during deployment
- Enforce authentication on all endpoints — verify every request requires valid authentication; no "hidden" administrative paths should exist
- Implement proper session management — use cryptographically secure session tokens, validate on server-side, enforce timeout policies
- Apply principle of least privilege — limit damage by ensuring even authenticated users only access necessary resources
- Regular security testing — conduct penetration testing specifically targeting authentication logic and flows
Recent CVEs (37711)
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Metagauss ProfileGrid profilegrid-user-profiles-groups-and-communities.9.3. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in wpdiscover Photo Gallery Builder photo-gallery-builder allows Accessing Functionality Not Properly Constrained by ACLs.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability in N-Media Simple User Registration wp-registration allows Authentication Bypass.7. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication bypass in the WP REST API FNS WordPress plugin (versions up to and including 1.0.0) allows remote unauthenticated attackers to access protected functionality by leveraging an alternate path or channel that circumvents authentication checks. With a CVSS of 9.8 and EPSS at 54.50% (98th percentile), this vulnerability presents substantial exploitation risk, though no public exploit identified at time of analysis. The flaw maps to CWE-288 and was reported by Patchstack.
A vulnerability has been found in didi DDMQ 1.0 and classified as critical. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Ivanti DSM < version 2024.2 allows authenticated users on the local machine to run code with elevated privileges due to insecure ACL via unspecified attack vector. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Ivanti DSM < version 2024.2 allows authenticated users on the local machine to run code with elevated privileges due to insecure ACL via unspecified attack vector. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in wfh45678 Radar up to 1.0.8 and classified as critical. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Dell Secure Connect Gateway (SCG) 5.0 Appliance - SRS, version(s) 5.24, contains an Improper Certificate Validation vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
MXsecurity software versions v1.1.0 and prior are vulnerable because of the use of hard-coded credentials. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The lack of access restriction to a resource from unauthorized users makes MXsecurity software versions v1.1.0 and prior vulnerable. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The WP Easy Post Types plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access, modification, and loss of data due to a missing capability check on multiple functions in all versions up to, and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect permission assignment for critical resource issue exists in Exment v6.1.4 and earlier and Exment v5.0.11 and earlier. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The SendGrid for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized loss of data due to a missing capability check on the 'wp_mailplus_clear_logs' function in all versions up to, and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Bulk images optimizer: Resize, optimize, convert to webp, rename … plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Tacquito prior to commit 07b49d1358e6ec0b5aa482fcd284f509191119e2 was not properly performing regex matches on authorized commands and arguments. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The affected product is vulnerable to an attacker being able to use commands without providing a password which may allow an attacker to leak information. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Tenda G3 v15.01.0.5(2848_755)_EN was discovered to contain a hardcoded password vulnerability in /etc_ro/shadow, which allows attackers to log in as root. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in Quay, which allows successful authentication even when a truncated password version is provided. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
PutongOJ is online judging software. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In JetBrains YouTrack before 2024.3.47197 insecure plugin iframe allowed arbitrary JavaScript execution and unauthorized API requests. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the .sdd file allows an attacker to read default passwords stored in plain text within the code. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The WP Timetics- AI-powered Appointment Booking Calendar and Online Scheduling Plugin plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Account Takeover/Privilege Escalation via Insecure Direct Object Reference. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Miniorange OTP Verification with Firebase plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Arbitrary User Password Change in versions up to, and including, 3.6.0. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The Miniorange OTP Verification with Firebase plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 3.6.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
The Co-Authors, Multiple Authors and Guest Authors in an Author Box with PublishPress Authors plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference to Privilege Escalation/Account. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
BIG-IP monitor functionality may allow an attacker to bypass access control restrictions, regardless of the port lockdown settings. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Nextend Social Login Pro plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in all versions up to, and including, 3.1.14. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication Bypass Using an Alternate Path or Channel vulnerability in SK BuddyPress Better Registration better-bp-registration allows Authentication Bypass.6. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authorization bypass through user-controlled key vulnerability affecting 3DSwym in 3DSwymer on Release 3DEXPERIENCE R2024x allows an authenticated attacker to access some unauthorized data. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The The WP Popup Builder - Popup Forms and Marketing Lead Generation plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to arbitrary shortcode execution via the wp_ajax_nopriv_shortcode_Api_Add AJAX action in all. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Code Injection vulnerability could allow attackers to inject and execute arbitrary code within the application.
The CloudStack Quota feature allows cloud administrators to implement a quota or usage limit system for cloud resources, and is disabled by default. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper Authentication vulnerability in Apache Solr. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Multiline files upload for contact form 7 plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized plugin deactivation due to a missing capability check on the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The UltimateAI plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in versions up to, and including, 2.8.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The UltimateAI plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to authentication bypass in all versions up to, and including, 2.8.3. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control in Imagine Cup allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Missing authorization in Power Platform allows an unauthenticated attacker to view sensitive information through a network attack vector. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Improper authentication in Microsoft Dataverse allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
A security issue was discovered in the Kubernetes Image Builder versions <= v0.1.37 where default credentials are enabled during the image build process when using the Nutanix, OVA, QEMU or raw. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. This Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability could allow attackers to gain access using credentials embedded in source code.
A security issue was discovered in the Kubernetes Image Builder versions <= v0.1.37 where default credentials are enabled during the image build process. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability could allow attackers to gain access using credentials embedded in source code.
An issue was discovered in Samsung eMMC with KLMAG2GE4A and KLM8G1WEMB firmware. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise ELM Enterprise Learning Management product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Enterprise Learning Management). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Liquidity Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: Reports). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Liquidity Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: Reports). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Global Payroll Core product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Global Payroll for Core). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Financials product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Common Components). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Service Contracts product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Authoring). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Sourcing product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Auctions). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Contract Lifecycle Management for Public Sector product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Award Processes). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle MES for Process Manufacturing product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Device Integration). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Work in Process product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Messages). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Quoting product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: User Interface). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Connectors product of Oracle MySQL (component: Connector/Python). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Field Service product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Field Service Engineer Portal). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Common Applications Calendar product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Tasks). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Incentive Compensation product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Compensation Plan). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Applications Manager product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Diagnostics). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Cost Management product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Cost Planning). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Advanced Pricing product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Price List). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Site Hub product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Site Hierarchy Flows). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise CC Common Application Objects product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Activity Guide Composer). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Connectors product of Oracle MySQL (component: Connector/ODBC). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in Oracle Application Express (component: General). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Core). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5). No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Installed Base product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: User Interface). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hyperion BI+ product of Oracle Hyperion (component: UI and Visualization). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Analytics (component: Web Server). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Product Hub product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Item Catalog). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java VM component of Oracle Database Server. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Process Manufacturing Product Development product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Quality Manager Specification). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise FIN Expenses product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Expenses). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3). No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Client product of Oracle MySQL (component: Client: mysqldump). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Service Bus product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: OSB Core Functionality). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Telemetry). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Telemetry). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Core). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Database Core component of Oracle Database Server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Core). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Core). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Query). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Enterprise Command Center Framework product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Diagnostics). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Service Bus product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: OSB Core Functionality). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Analytics (component: Layout Templates). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Enterprise Manager for Fusion Middleware product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: WebLogic Mgmt). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Fusion Middleware Control product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: FMW Control Plugin). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Global Lifecycle Management FMW Installer product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Cloning). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 37711