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 (32874)
Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus before 6112 is vulnerable to mail spoofing. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
A flaw was found in Red Hat DataGrid 8.x (8.0.0, 8.0.1, 8.1.0 and 8.1.1) and Infinispan (10.0.0 through 12.0.0). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Visual Link Preview WordPress plugin before 2.2.3 does not enforce authorisation on several AJAX actions and has the CSRF nonce displayed for all authenticated users, allowing any authenticated. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The Timetable and Event Schedule WordPress plugin before 2.4.2 does not have proper access control when deleting a timeslot, allowing any user with the edit_posts capability (contributor+) to delete. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Properly formatted POST requests to multiple resources on the HTTP and HTTPS web servers of the Digi PortServer TS 16 Rack device do not require authentication or authentication tokens. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
XSS Hunter Express before 2021-09-17 does not properly enforce authentication requirements for paths. 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.
Apache Shiro before 1.8.0, when using Apache Shiro with Spring Boot, a specially crafted HTTP request may cause an authentication bypass. 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.
Improper access control vulnerability in RevoWorks Browser 2.1.230 and earlier allows an attacker to bypass access restriction and to exchange unauthorized files between the local environment and the. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Multiple Wireless M-Bus devices by Enbra use Hard-coded Credentials in Security mode 5 without an option to change the encryption key. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The identity authentication bypass vulnerability found in some Dahua products during the login process. 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.
The identity authentication bypass vulnerability found in some Dahua products during the login process. 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.
The Service Layer of SAP Business One, version - 10.0, allows an authenticated attacker to invoke certain functions that would otherwise be restricted to specific users. 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.
Jitsi Meet is an open source video conferencing application. 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.
IBM Security Guardium 10.6 and 11.3 could allow a remote authenticated attacker to obtain sensitive information or modify user details caused by an insecure direct object vulnerability (IDOR). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
GLPI is a free Asset and IT management software package. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
BitLocker Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.7), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
Windows Key Storage Provider Security Feature Bypass Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Elastic Enterprise Search App Search versions before 7.14.0 was vulnerable to an issue where API keys were not bound to the same engines as their creator. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Elasticsearch before 7.14.0 did not apply document and field level security to searchable snapshots. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The activation process in Travis CI, for certain 2021-09-03 through 2021-09-10 builds, causes secret data to have unexpected sharing that is not specified by the customer-controlled .travis.yml file. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP ERP Financial Accounting (RFOPENPOSTING_FR) versions - SAP_APPL - 600, 602, 603, 604, 605, 606, 616, SAP_FIN - 617, 618, 700, 720, 730, SAPSCORE - 125, S4CORE, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP NetWeaver Application Server Java (JMS Connector Service) - versions 7.11, 7.20, 7.30, 7.31, 7.40, 7.50, does not perform necessary authorization checks for user privileges. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been identified in Teamcenter V12.4 (All versions < V12.4.0.8), Teamcenter V13.0 (All versions < V13.0.0.7), Teamcenter V13.1 (All versions < V13.1.0.5), Teamcenter V13.2 (All. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in Industrial Edge Management (All versions < V1.3). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A vulnerability has been identified in SINEMA Remote Connect Server (All versions < V3.0 SP2). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
A logic error in the room key sharing functionality of Element Android before 1.2.2 and matrix-android-sdk2 (aka Matrix SDK for Android) before 1.2.2 allows a malicious Matrix homeserver present in. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
A logic error in the room key sharing functionality of matrix-js-sdk (aka Matrix Javascript SDK) before 12.4.1 allows a malicious Matrix homeserver present in an encrypted room to steal room. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Multiple camera devices by UDP Technology, Geutebrück and other vendors allow unauthenticated remote access to sensitive files due to default user authentication settings. 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.
Certain NETGEAR smart switches are affected by an authentication hijacking race-condition vulnerability by an unauthenticated attacker who uses the same source IP address as an admin in the process. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
This affects the package set-value before <2.0.1, >=3.0.0 <4.0.1. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
In Ionic Identity Vault before 5, a local root attacker on an Android device can bypass biometric authentication. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Zoho ManageEngine DesktopCentral before 10.0.709 allows anyone to get a valid user's APIKEY without authentication. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability involving insecure storage of sensitive information has been reported to affect QSW-M2116P-2T2S and QNAP switches running QuNetSwitch. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Pomerium is an open source identity-aware access proxy. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
check-spelling is a github action which provides CI spell checking. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Improper scheme check vulnerability in Samsung Internet prior to version 15.0.2.47 allows attackers to perform Man-in-the-middle attack and obtain Samsung Account token. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Improper access control vulnerability in PENUP prior to version 3.8.00.18 allows arbitrary webpage loading in webview. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper access control vulnerability in sspExit() in BlockchainTZService prior to SMR Sep-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to terminate BlockchainTZService. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper access control vulnerability in sspInit() in BlockchainTZService prior to SMR Sep-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to start BlockchainTZService. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A PendingIntent hijacking in NetworkPolicyManagerService prior to SMR Sep-2021 Release 1 allows attackers to get IMSI data. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In OpenBMC 2.9, crafted IPMI messages allow an attacker to bypass authentication and gain full control of the system. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
BAB TECHNOLOGIE GmbH eibPort V3 prior version 3.9.1 allow unauthenticated attackers access to /webif/SecurityModule to validate the so called and hard coded unique 'eibPort String' which acts as the. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An unauthorized user was able to insert metadata when creating new issue on GitLab CE/EE 14.0 and later. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Arista's MOS (Metamako Operating System) software which is supported on the 7130 product line, user account passwords set in clear text could leak to users without any password. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Arista's MOS (Metamako Operating System) software which is supported on the 7130 product line, user enable passwords set in clear text could result in unprivileged users getting complete access to. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Arista's MOS (Metamako Operating System) software which is supported on the 7130 product line, under certain conditions, user authentication can be bypassed when API access is enabled via the. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Arista's MOS (Metamako Operating System) software which is supported on the 7130 product line, under certain conditions, authentication is bypassed by unprivileged users who are accessing the Web. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In Arista's MOS (Metamako Operating System) software which is supported on the 7130 product line, under certain conditions, a user may be able to execute commands despite not having the privileges to. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Emby Server is a personal media server with apps on many devices. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Inappropriate implementation in the ChromeOS Readiness Tool installer on Windows prior to 1.0.2.0 loosens DCOM access rights on two objects allowing an attacker to potentially bypass discretionary. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Central Dogma allows privilege escalation with mirroring to the internal dogma repository that has a file managing the authorization of the project. 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.
An improper verification of cryptographic signature vulnerability exists in Cortex XSOAR SAML authentication that enables an unauthenticated network-based attacker with specific knowledge of the. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
An improper authorization vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks Cortex XSOAR server enables an authenticated network-based attacker with investigation read permissions to download files from. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An insecure, direct object vulnerability in hunting/fishing license retrieval function of the "Fish | Hunt FL" iOS app versions 3.8.0 and earlier allows a remote authenticated attacker to retrieve. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Magento versions 2.4.2 (and earlier), 2.4.1-p1 (and earlier) and 2.3.6-p1 (and earlier) are vulnerable to an Improper Authorization vulnerability in the customers module. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A permissions issue was addressed with improved validation. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A validation issue was addressed with improved logic. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved checks. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved handling of file metadata. 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 state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue existed with authenticating the action triggered by an NFC tag. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A call termination issue with was addressed with improved logic. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue in code signature validation was addressed with improved checks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved checks. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A logic 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.
This issue was addressed with improved entitlements. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue in code signature validation 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 validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A logic issue was addressed with improved state management. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An input validation issue was addressed with improved input validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This issue was addressed with improved data protection. 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 restrictions. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Nextcloud server is an open source, self hosted personal cloud. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability could allow attackers to access critical functionality without authentication.
Nextcloud Richdocuments is an open source collaborative office suite. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Deck is an open source kanban style organization tool aimed at personal planning and project organization for teams integrated with Nextcloud. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Nextcloud Circles is an open source social network built for the nextcloud ecosystem. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Session fixation on password protected public links in the ownCloud Server before 10.8.0 allows an attacker to bypass the password protection when they can force a target client to use a controlled. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
pcapture is an open source dumpcap web service interface . 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.
The shareinfo controller in the ownCloud Server before 10.8.0 allows an attacker to bypass the permission checks for upload only shares and list metadata about the share. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Zoho ManageEngine ADSelfService Plus version 6113 and prior is vulnerable to REST API authentication bypass with resultant remote code execution. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
HashiCorp Consul and Consul Enterprise 1.10.1 Txn.Apply endpoint allowed services to register proxies for other services, enabling access to service traffic. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in CommentsService.ashx in OnyakTech Comments Pro 3.8. 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.
A security issue was discovered in kube-apiserver that could allow node updates to bypass a Validating Admission Webhook. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Chromium: CVE-2021-30621 UI Spoofing in Autofill. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Chromium: CVE-2021-30619 UI Spoofing in Autofill. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Chromium: CVE-2021-30617 Policy bypass in Blink. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 32874