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 (37769)
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Brainstorm Force Ultimate Addons for Beaver Builder - Lite.5.5. 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 SedLex Traffic Manager.4.5. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in SedLex Image Zoom.8.8. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Zorem Advanced Local Pickup for WooCommerce.5.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in MagneticOne Cart2Cart: Magento to WooCommerce Migration.0.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in AlgolPlus Advanced Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce.1.5. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Zorem Sales Report Email for WooCommerce.8. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Missing Authorization vulnerability in Vagary Digital HREFLANG Tags Lite.0.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Inadequate access control in the C21 Live Encoder and Live Mosaic product, version 5.3. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Burst Statistics - Privacy-Friendly Analytics for WordPress plugin, version 1.5.3, is vulnerable to Post-Authenticated SQL Injection via multiple JSON parameters in the. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Shopware is an open headless commerce platform. 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: Web Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle BI Publisher product of Oracle Analytics (component: Web Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: DDL). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Customer Interaction History product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Outcome-Result). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Knowledge Management product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Setup, Admin). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle iStore product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: ECC). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle One-to-One Fulfillment product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Documents). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebCenter Content product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Content Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Java SE (component: JavaFX). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Enterprise Manager Base Platform product of Oracle Enterprise Manager (component: Event Management). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in Oracle Audit Vault and Database Firewall (component: Firewall). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebCenter Sites product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Advanced UI). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Integrated Lights Out Manager (ILOM) product of Oracle Systems (component: System Management). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The EventON WordPress plugin through 4.5.8, EventON WordPress plugin before 2.2.7 do not have authorisation in some AJAX actions, allowing unauthenticated users to update virtual events settings,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The EventON WordPress plugin before 4.5.5, EventON WordPress plugin before 2.2.7 do not have authorisation in an AJAX action, allowing unauthenticated users to retrieve the settings of arbitrary. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The EventON WordPress plugin before 4.5.5, EventON WordPress plugin before 2.2.7 do not have authorisation in an AJAX action, allowing unauthenticated users to retrieve email addresses of any users. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as critical was found in Totolink N350RT 9.3.5u.6265. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Open edX Platform is a service-oriented platform for authoring and delivering online learning. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An access control issue in QStar Archive Solutions Release RELEASE_3-0 Build 7 Patch 0 allows unauthenticated attackers to arbitrarily adjust sensitive SMB settings on the QStar Server. 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.
Incorrect access control in QStar Archive Solutions Release RELEASE_3-0 Build 7 Patch 0 allows unauthenticated attackers to obtain system backups and other sensitive information from the QStar Server. 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.
An unauthenticated log file read in the component log-smblog-save of QStar Archive Solutions RELEASE_3-0 Build 7 Patch 0 allows attackers to disclose the SMB Log contents via executing a crafted. 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.
An issue was discovered in NPM's package @evershop/evershop before version 1.0.0-rc.8. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.1), 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.
Lack of authentication in NPM's package @evershop/evershop before version 1.0.0-rc.8, allows remote attackers to obtain sensitive information via improper authorization in GraphQL endpoints. 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.
A vulnerability was found in Apollo 2.0.0/2.0.1 and classified as problematic. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Rubygems.org is the Ruby community's gem hosting service. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. This Improper Authentication vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authentication mechanisms to gain unauthorized access.
Discourse is a platform for community discussion. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Discourse-reactions is a plugin that allows user to add their reactions to the post. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Clerk helps developers build user management. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
NVIDIA DGX A100 BMC contains a vulnerability where a user may cause a missing authentication issue for a critical function by an adjacent network . Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The secret value used for access to critical UDS services of the MIB3 infotainment is hardcoded in the firmware. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.0), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The router console is accessible without authentication at "data" field, and while a user needs to be logged in in order to modify the configuration, the session state is shared. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Root user password is hardcoded into the device and cannot be changed in the user interface. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A missing authorization check vulnerability exists in GitLab Remote Development affecting all versions prior to 16.5.6, 16.6 prior to 16.6.4 and 16.7 prior to 16.7.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect authorization checks in GitLab CE/EE from all versions starting from 8.13 before 16.5.6, all versions starting from 16.6 before 16.6.4, all versions starting from 16.7 before 16.7.2, allows. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
An issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from 15.3 before 16.5.6, all versions starting from 16.6 before 16.6.4, all versions starting from 16.7 before 16.7.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on GL.iNet devices before version 4.5.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in CentralSquare Click2Gov Building Permit before October 2023. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
ELAN Match-on-Chip FPR solution has design fault about potential risk of valid SID leakage and enumeration with spoof sensor. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Unsupported Feature in the UI vulnerability in Juniper Networks Junos OS on MX Series and EX9200 Series allows an unauthenticated, network-based attacker to cause partial impact to the integrity. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Improper Access Control vulnerability in the Juniper Networks Paragon Active Assurance Control Center allows an unauthenticated network-based attacker to access reports without authenticating,. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A spoofing attack in ujcms v.8.0.2 allows a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information and execute arbitrary code via a crafted script to the X-Forwarded-For function in the header. 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.
Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Hozard alarm system (Alarmsysteem) v1.0 is vulnerable to Improper Authentication. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Flient Smart Door Lock v1.0 is vulnerable to Use of Default Credentials. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as critical was found in DeShang DSMall up to 6.1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in DeShang DSCMS up to 3.1.2/7.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in DeShang DSKMS up to 3.1.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in DeShang DSShop up to 3.1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in DeShang DSMall up to 6.1.0. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
When access to the "admin" folder is not protected by some external authorization mechanisms e.g. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
D-Link DIR-822+ V1.0.2 contains a login bypass in the HNAP1 interface, which allows attackers to log in to administrator accounts with empty passwords. 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.
ScaleFusion 10.5.2 does not properly limit users to the Edge application because Alt-F4 can be used. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In ScaleFusion (Windows Desktop App) agent 10.5.2, Kiosk mode application restrictions can be bypassed allowing arbitrary code to be executed. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The LightStart - Maintenance Mode, Coming Soon and Landing Page Builder 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.
The Slick Social Share Buttons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'dcssb_ajax_update' function in versions up to, and. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The POST SMTP Mailer - Email log, Delivery Failure Notifications and Best Mail SMTP for WordPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data and modification of data due to a. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 93.7%.
The Paid Memberships Pro - Content Restriction, User Registration, & Paid Subscriptions plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of membership levels created by the plugin due. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Hostinger plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized plugin settings update due to a missing capability check on the function publish_website in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.7. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
The Gallery Plugin for WordPress - Envira Photo Gallery plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to an improper capability check on the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The GTG Product Feed for Shopping plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'update_settings' function in versions up to, and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The CAOS | Host Google Analytics Locally plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the 'update_settings' function in versions up to,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
The SpeedyCache plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on the speedycache_save_varniship, speedycache_img_update_settings,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), 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.
The ElementsKit Elementor addons plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 3.0.3 via the ekit_widgetarea_content function. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The User Profile Builder - Beautiful User Registration Forms, User Profiles & User Role Editor plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to a missing capability check on. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), 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.
The Manage Notification E-mails plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Missing Authorization in all versions up to, and including, 1.8.5 via the card_famne_export_settings function. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The Export WP Page to Static HTML/CSS plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data and modification of data due to a missing capability check on multiple AJAX actions in all. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), 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.
The Backup Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data due to insufficient path and file validation on the BMI_BACKUP case of the handle_downloading function in all. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and EPSS exploitation probability 21.8%.
The Easy Social Feed plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to a missing capability check on multiple AJAX functions in all versions up to, and including, 6.5.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The LearnPress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 4.2.5.7 via the /wp-json/lp/v1/profile/course-tab REST API due to missing. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Contact Form 7 - Dynamic Text Extension plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Insecure Direct Object Reference in all versions up to, and including, 4.1.0 via the CF7_get_custom_field and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
pimcore/customer-data-framework is the Customer Management Framework for management of customer data within Pimcore. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
The Customer Management Framework (CMF) for Pimcore adds functionality for customer data management, segmentation, personalization and marketing automation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
ecommerce-framework-bundle is the Pimcore Ecommerce Framework Bundle. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An attacker with network access to the affected PLC (CJ-series and CS-series PLCs, all versions) may use a network protocol to read and write files on the PLC internal memory and memory card. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved checks This issue is fixed in macOS Sonoma 14. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed by improving Face ID anti-spoofing models. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved checks. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authentication issue was addressed with improved state management. 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
- 37769