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 (32857)
A improper handling of insufficient permissions or privileges in Fortinet FortiAnalyzer version 5.6.0 through 5.6.11, FortiAnalyzer version 6.0.0 through 6.0.11, FortiAnalyzer version 6.2.0 through. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect Authorization in GitHub repository microweber/microweber prior to 1.3. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
On ICL ScadaFlex II SCADA Controller SC-1 and SC-2 1.03.07 devices, unauthenticated remote attackers can overwrite, delete, or create files. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
KDE KCron through 21.12.2 uses a temporary file in /tmp when saving, but reuses the filename during an editing session. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Zulip is an open-source team collaboration tool with topic-based threading. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
In waline 1.6.1, an attacker can submit messages using X-Forwarded-For to forge any IP address. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
The PAM module for fscrypt doesn't adequately validate fscrypt metadata files, allowing users to create malicious metadata files that prevent other users from logging in. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
The backend infrastructure shared by multiple mobile device monitoring services does not adequately authenticate or authorize API requests, creating an IDOR (Insecure Direct Object Reference). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In wolfSSL before 5.2.0, certificate validation may be bypassed during attempted authentication by a TLS 1.3 client to a TLS 1.3 server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Authentication bypass vulnerability in a-blog cms Ver.2.8.x series versions prior to Ver.2.8.74, Ver.2.9.x series versions prior to Ver.2.9.39, Ver.2.10.x series versions prior to Ver.2.10.43, and. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trend Micro ServerProtect 6.0/5.8 Information Server uses a static credential to perform authentication when a specific command is typed in the console. 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.
Improper Access Control (IDOR) in GitHub repository dolibarr/dolibarr prior to 16.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Improper Access Control in GitHub repository chocobozzz/peertube prior to 4.1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Missing Authorization in GitHub repository chocobozzz/peertube prior to 4.1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Envoy is an open source edge and service proxy, designed for cloud-native applications. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Istio is an open platform to connect, manage, and secure microservices. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Improper Authentication vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access.
Wiki.js is a wiki app built on Node.js. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Improper Authentication vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access.
capsule-proxy is a reverse proxy for Capsule Operator which provides multi-tenancy in Kubernetes. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key in NPM url-parse prior to 1.5.9. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key in NPM url-parse prior to 1.5.8. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in the Varnishcache extension before 2.0.1 for TYPO3. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
This vulnerability allows remote attackers to bypass authentication on affected installations of BMC Track-It!. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
It was discovered, that redis, a persistent key-value database, due to a packaging issue, is prone to a (Debian-specific) Lua sandbox escape, which could result in remote code execution. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Ibexa DXP ezsystems/ezpublish-kernel 7.5.x before 7.5.26 and 1.3.x before 1.3.12 allows Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) attacks against image files because the image path and filename can be. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
RigoBlock Dragos through 2022-02-17 lacks the onlyOwner modifier for setMultipleAllowances. 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.
The vulnerability allows Subscriber+ level users to create brands in WordPress Perfect Brands for WooCommerce plugin (versions <= 2.0.4). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
MMP: All versions prior to v1.0.3, PTP C-series: Device versions prior to v2.8.6.1, and PTMP C-series and A5x: Device versions prior to v2.5.4.1 does not perform proper authorization and. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
MMP: All versions prior to v1.0.3, PTP C-series: Device versions prior to v2.8.6.1, and PTMP C-series and A5x: Device versions prior to v2.5.4.1 does not perform proper authorization checks on. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in LemMinX in versions prior to 0.19.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Cerebrate through 1.4. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
The UpdraftPlus WordPress plugin Free before 1.22.3 and Premium before 2.22.3 do not properly validate a user has the required privileges to access a backup's nonce identifier, which may allow any. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Authorization Bypass Through User-Controlled Key in NPM url-parse prior to 1.5.7. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
The Quick Edit module does not properly check entity access in some circumstances. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
NATS nats-server before 2.7.2 has Incorrect Access Control. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
XMPie uStore 12.3.7244.0 allows for administrators to generate reports based on raw SQL queries. 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.
As mitigations to a report from 2019 and CVE-2020-8555, Kubernetes attempts to prevent proxied connections from accessing link-local or localhost networks when making user-driven connections to. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
PrinterLogic Web Stack versions 19.1.1.13 SP9 and below use a hardcoded APP_KEY value, leading to pre-auth remote code execution. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Multiple Tenda devices are affected by authentication bypass, such as AC15V1.0 Firmware V15.03.05.20_multi?AC5V1.0 Firmware V15.03.06.48_multi and so on. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Single Connect does not perform an authorization check when using the "sc-assigned-credential-ui" module. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Single Connect does not perform an authorization check when using the "sc-diagnostic-ui" module. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Single Connect does not perform an authorization check when using the sc-reports-ui" module. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Single Connect does not perform an authorization check when using the "log-monitor" module. 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: Hotspot). 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: Hotspot). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trusted Firmware-M (TF-M) 1.4.0, when Profile Small is used, has incorrect access control. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
Netgear Nighthawk R6700 version 1.0.4.120 makes use of a hardcoded credential. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Netgear Nighthawk R6700 version 1.0.4.120 does not have sufficient protections for the UART console. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Netgear RAX43 version 1.0.3.96 makes use of hardcoded credentials. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Netgear RAX43 version 1.0.3.96 does not have sufficient protections to the UART interface. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trendnet AC2600 TEW-827DRU version 2.08B01 does not have sufficient protections for the UART functionality. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trendnet AC2600 TEW-827DRU version 2.08B01 contains an authentication bypass vulnerability. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trendnet AC2600 TEW-827DRU version 2.08B01 makes use of hardcoded credentials. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Trendnet AC2600 TEW-827DRU version 2.08B01 lacks proper authentication to the bittorrent functionality. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trendnet AC2600 TEW-827DRU version 2.08B01 improperly discloses information via redirection from the setup wizard. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Trendnet AC2600 TEW-827DRU version 2.08B01 does not have sufficient access controls for the WAN interface. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Quagga Services on D-Link DIR-2640 less than or equal to version 1.11B02 use default hard-coded credentials, which can allow a remote attacker to gain administrative access to the zebra or ripd those. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Glewlwyd 2.0.0, fixed in 2.6.1 is affected by an incorrect access control vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Improper Authentication vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access.
An improper authentication vulnerability has been reported to affect Android App Qfile. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Ifme, versions v5.0.0 to v7.32 are vulnerable against an improper access control, which makes it possible for admins to ban themselves leading to their deactivation from Ifme account and complete. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Carinal Tien Hospital Health Report System’s login page has improper authentication, a remote attacker can acquire another general user’s privilege by modifying the cookie parameter without. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
https://www.sourcecodester.com/ Online Enrollment Management System in PHP and PayPal Free Source Code 1.0 is affected by: Incorrect Access Control. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Yappli is an application development platform which provides the function to access a requested URL using Custom URL Scheme. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
basic/BasicAuthProvider.java in AuthGuard before 0.9.0 allows authentication via an inactive identifier. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Improper Authentication vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access.
Hard coded credentials discovered in SolarWinds Web Help Desk product. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IntelliBridge EC 40 and 60 Hub (C.00.04 and prior) contains hard-coded credentials, such as a password or a cryptographic key, which it uses for its own inbound authentication, outbound communication. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
ZTE BigVideo Analysis product has a privilege escalation vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Apache APISIX Dashboard before 2.10.1, the Manager API uses two frameworks and introduces framework `droplet` on the basis of framework `gin`, all APIs and authentication middleware are developed. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Privilege escalation vulnerability in Avast Antivirus prior to 20.4 allows a local user to gain elevated privileges by "hollowing" trusted process which could lead to the bypassing of Avast. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The WP Guppy WordPress plugin before 1.3 does not have any authorisation in some of the REST API endpoints, allowing any user to call them and could lead to sensitive information disclosure, such as. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
NETGEAR XR1000 devices before 1.0.0.58 are affected by a hardcoded password. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by a hardcoded password. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is 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.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by a hardcoded password. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is 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.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
NETGEAR XR1000 devices before 1.0.0.58 are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain NETGEAR devices are affected by authentication bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
NETGEAR R6700v2 devices before 1.2.0.88 are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
NETGEAR D7000 devices before 1.0.1.82 are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
NETGEAR D7000 devices before 1.0.1.82 are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
NETGEAR D7000 devices before 1.0.1.68 are affected by authentication bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
MediaTek microchips, as used in NETGEAR devices through 2021-11-11 and other devices, mishandle IEEE 1905 protocols. 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
- 32857