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 (32809)
Mattermost fails to invalidate existing authorization codes when deauthorizing an OAuth2 app, allowing an attacker possessing an authorization code to generate an access token. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Desktop component service allows lateral movement between sessions in M-Files before 23.4.12455.0. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In sanitize of LayerState.cpp, there is a possible way to take over the screen display and swap the display content due to a missing permission check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In canDisplayLocalUi of AppLocalePickerActivity.java, there is a possible way to change system app locales due to a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In AlarmManagerActivity of AlarmManagerActivity.java, there is a possible way to bypass background activity launch restrictions via a pendingIntent. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
In multiple functions of RunningTasks.java, there is a possible privilege escalation due to a missing privilege check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
PowerJob V4.3.1 is vulnerable to Incorrect Access Control via the create user/save interface. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Cloud hypervisor is a Virtual Machine Monitor for Cloud workloads. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability could allow attackers to access critical functionality without authentication.
Strapi through 4.5.5 does not verify the access or ID tokens issued during the OAuth flow when the AWS Cognito login provider is used for authentication. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Code Sector TeraCopy 3.9.7 does not perform proper access validation on the source folder during a copy operation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
PowerJob V4.3.1 is vulnerable to Incorrect Access Control via the create app interface. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
XWiki Platform is a generic wiki platform offering runtime services for applications built on top of it. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The email module of Python through 3.11.3 incorrectly parses e-mail addresses that contain a special character. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability exists that could cause Denial-of-Service when accessed by an unauthenticated user on the Schneider UPS Monitor service. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A CWE-306: Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability exists that could allow changes to administrative credentials, leading to potential remote code execution without requiring prior. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A CWE-613: Insufficient Session Expiration vulnerability exists that could allow an attacker to maintain unauthorized access over a hijacked session in PME after the legitimate user has signed out of. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A CWE-862: Missing Authorization vulnerability exists that could allow viewing of unauthorized content, changes or deleting of content, or performing unauthorized functions when tampering the Device. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization vulnerability exists that could allow access to device credentials on specific DCE endpoints not being properly secured when a hacker is using a low privileged. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A CWE-863: Incorrect Authorization vulnerability exists that could allow remote code execution on upload and install packages when a hacker is using a low privileged user account. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: Utility). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, 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 Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.6). No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle User Management product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Proxy User Delegation). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Clinical Remote Data Capture product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Forms). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise HCM Human Resources product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Administer Workforce). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), 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 low severity (CVSS 3.2), this vulnerability is 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 Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: Utility). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Elastic Search). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Client programs). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), 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 iProcurement product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: E-Content Manager Catalog). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Analytics (component: Security). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in Oracle SQL Developer (component: Installation). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: Libraries). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Analytics Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle iReceivables product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Attachments). 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: Web Container). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: Hotspot). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Analytics Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in Oracle Essbase (component: Security and Provisioning). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in Oracle Essbase (component: Security and Provisioning). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in Oracle Essbase (component: Security and Provisioning). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Analytics (component: Web Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: Swing). 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 Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: Libraries). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: Networking). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools product of Oracle JD Edwards (component: Web Runtime SEC). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java VM component of Oracle Database Server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hospitality OPERA 5 Property Services product of Oracle Hospitality Applications (component: OXI). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), 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. Public exploit code available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: JSSE). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: IPS repository daemon). Rated low severity (CVSS 1.8).
Vulnerability in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools product of Oracle JD Edwards (component: Interoperability SEC). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Health Sciences InForm product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Health Sciences InForm product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Core). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Health Sciences InForm product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Health Sciences InForm product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Web Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Payments product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: Book/Internal Transfer). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Analytics Web General). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Siebel CRM product of Oracle Siebel CRM (component: UI Framework). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: OBVAM Trn Journal Domain). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: OBVAM Trn Journal Domain). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: SMS Module). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: Routing Hub). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: OBVAM Trn Journal Domain). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Banking Virtual Account Management product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: OBVAM Internal Tfr Domain). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Financial Services Behavior Detection Platform product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: Application). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
A CWE-287: Improper Authentication vulnerability exists that could allow a device to be compromised when a key of less than seven digits is entered and the attacker has access to the KNX installation. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insufficient permission checks in the REST API in Tribe29 Checkmk <= 2.1.0p27 and <= 2.2.0b4 (beta) allow unauthorized users to schedule downtimes for any host. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Use of Hard-coded Credentials in GitHub repository nuxtlabs/github-module prior to 1.6.2. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Nextcloud is a personal home server system. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
An Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions vulnerability in the kernel of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an adjacent unauthenticated attacker to bypass an integrity check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Authorization vulnerability in the 'sysmanctl' shell command of Juniper Networks Junos OS Evolved allows a local, authenticated attacker to execute administrative commands that could. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Link Resolution Before File Access vulnerability in console port access of Juniper Networks Junos OS on NFX Series allows an attacker to bypass console access controls. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Restriction of Communication Channel to Intended Endpoints vulnerability in the timescaledb feature of Juniper Networks Paragon Active Assurance (PAA) (Formerly Netrounds) allows an. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Authentication vulnerability in cert-mgmt.php, used by the J-Web component of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to read arbitrary files from. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Authentication vulnerability in upload-file.php, used by the J-Web component of Juniper Networks Junos OS allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to upload arbitrary files to. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Electra Central AC unit - Adjacent attacker may cause the unit to connect to unauthorized update server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Electra Central AC unit - Adjacent attacker may cause the unit to load unauthorized FW. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Electra Central AC unit - Hardcoded Credentials in unspecified code used by the unit. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Electra Central AC unit - Adjacent attacker may cause the unit to load unauthorized FW. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authenticated user with Gamma role authorization could have access to metadata information using non trivial methods in Apache Superset up to and including 2.0.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The W4 Post List WordPress plugin before 2.4.6 does not ensure that password protected posts can be accessed before displaying their content, which could allow any authenticated users to access them. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Incorrect Authorization vulnerability in Apache Software Foundation Apache IoTDB.13.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 32809