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 (37788)
In PHP Jabbers Time Slots Booking Calendar 3.3 , lack of verification when changing an email address and/or password (on the Profile Page) allows remote attackers to take over accounts. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Session tokens in RWS WorldServer 11.7.3 and earlier have a low entropy and can be enumerated, leading to unauthorized access to user sessions. 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.
pnpm is a package manager. 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.
An issue in the delete function in the UserController class of jeesite v1.2.6 allows authenticated attackers to arbitrarily delete the Administrator's role information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Authentication Bypass vulnerability in D-Link DIR-859 FW105b03 allows remote attackers to gain escalated privileges via via phpcgi_main. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication Bypass vulnerability in D-Link DIR-895 FW102b07 allows remote attackers to gain escalated privileges via via function phpcgi_main in cgibin. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication Bypass vulnerability in D-Link DIR-885L FW102b01 allows remote attackers to gain escalated privileges via phpcgi. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication Bypass vulnerability in D-Link DIR-645 firmware version 1.03 allows remote attackers to gain escalated privileges via function phpcgi_main in cgibin. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
JBL soundbar multibeam 5.1 - CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Synel SYnergy Fingerprint Terminals - CWE-798: Use of Hard-coded Credentials. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insufficient data validation in DevTools in Google Chrome prior to 111.0.5563.64 allowed a remote attacker to bypass navigation restrictions via a crafted HTML page. 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.
Insufficient policy enforcement in File System API in Google Chrome prior to 112.0.5615.49 allowed a remote attacker to bypass filesystem restrictions via a crafted HTML page. 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.
An injection issue was addressed with improved input validation. 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 validation of symlinks. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Several plugins for WordPress by Inisev are vulnerable to unauthorized installation of plugins due to a missing capability check on the handle_installation function that is called via the. 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.
TeleAdapt RoomCast TA-2400 1.0 through 3.1 suffers from Use of a Hard-coded Password (PIN): 385521, 843646, and 592671. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Tolgee is an open-source localization platform. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), 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 ACF Photo Gallery Field plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized modification of data due to an insufficient restriction on the 'apg_profile_update' function in versions up to, and. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The InstaWP Connect plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to unauthorized access of data, modification of data and loss of data due to a missing capability check on the 'events_receiver' function in. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), 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 issue 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.
The 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.
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.
Multi-Remote Next Generation Connection Manager (mRemoteNG) is free software that enables users to store and manage multi-protocol connection configurations to remotely connect to systems. 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 missing authorization vulnerability exists in versions of the Jenkins Plug-in for ServiceNow DevOps prior to 1.38.1 that, if exploited successfully, could cause the unwanted exposure of sensitive. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Access Control Bypass Vulnerability in the SolarWinds Platform that allows an underprivileged user to read arbitrary resource. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect permission checks in Jenkins Qualys Web App Scanning Connector Plugin 2.0.10 and earlier allow attackers with global Item/Configure permission to connect to an attacker-specified URL using. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
emlog 2.1.9 is vulnerable to Arbitrary file deletion via admin\template.php. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Authentication bypass vulnerability in Fujitsu network devices Si-R series and SR-M series allows a network-adjacent unauthenticated attacker to obtain, change, and/or reset configuration settings of. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Fujitsu Real-time Video Transmission Gear "IP series" use hard-coded credentials, which may allow a remote unauthenticated attacker to initialize or reboot the products, and as a result, terminate. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Armeria is a microservice framework Spring supports Matrix variables. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
Sentry is an error tracking and performance monitoring platform. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
There exists an authentication bypass vulnerability in OpenThread border router devices and implementations. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An unauthorized user could gain account access to IQ Wifi 6 versions prior to 2.0.2 by conducting a brute force authentication attack. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authentication bypass exists in PaperCut NG versions 22.0.12 and prior that could allow a remote, unauthenticated attacker to upload arbitrary files to the PaperCut NG host’s file storage. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Username enumeration is possible through Bypassing CAPTCHA in On-premise SureMDM Solution on Windows deployment allows attacker to enumerate local user information via error message.31 and below. 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.
Improper privilege validation in Command Centre Server allows authenticated unprivileged operators to modify and view Personal Data Fields.90 prior to vEL8.90.1318 (MR1), vEL8.80 prior to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper privilege validation in Command Centre Server allows authenticated unprivileged operators to modify and view Competencies.90 prior to vEL8.90.1318 (MR1), vEL8.80 prior to vEL8.80.1192 (MR2),. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper privilege validation in Command Centre Server allows authenticated operators to modify Division lineage.80 prior to vEL8.80.1192 (MR2), vEL8.70 prior to vEL8.70.2185 (MR4), vEL8.60 prior to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Apache Shiro, before 1.12.0 or 2.0.0-alpha-3, may be susceptible to a path traversal attack that results in an authentication bypass when used together with APIs or other web frameworks that route. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Dapr is a portable, event-driven, runtime for building distributed applications across cloud and edge. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
An access control issue in WebBoss.io CMS v3.7.0.1 allows attackers to access the Website Backup Tool via a crafted GET request. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Microsoft Edge for Android Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Microsoft Edge (Chromium-based) Spoofing Vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Certain HP LaserJet Pro print products are potentially vulnerable to an Elevation of Privilege and/or Information Disclosure related to a lack of authentication with certain endpoints. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue has been discovered in GitLab EE affecting all versions starting from 12.8 before 15.11.11, all versions starting from 16.0 before 16.0.7, all versions starting from 16.1 before 16.1.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability, which was classified as critical, has been found in Xiamen Four Letter Video Surveillance Management System up to 20230712.class of the component Login. 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.
ShowMojo MojoBox Digital Lockbox 1.4 is vulnerable to Authentication Bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
The web interface on multiple Samsung Harman AMX N-Series devices allows directory listing for the /tmp/ directory, without authentication, exposing sensitive information such as the command history. 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.
Open Access Management (OpenAM) is an access management solution that includes Authentication, SSO, Authorization, Federation, Entitlements and Web Services Security. 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.
A vulnerability classified as problematic has been found in Aures Komet up to 20230509. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Wyse Management Suite versions prior to 4.0 contain an improper authorization vulnerability. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
InfoDoc Document On-line Submission and Approval System lacks sufficient restrictions on the available tags within its HTML to PDF conversion function, and allowing an unauthenticated attackers to. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A potential vulnerability has been identified in the Micro Focus Dimensions CM Plugin for Jenkins. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In GeoVision GV-ADR2701 cameras, an attacker could edit the login response to access the web application. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Using "**" as a pattern in Spring Security configuration for WebFlux creates a mismatch in pattern matching between Spring Security and Spring WebFlux, and the potential for a security bypass. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Grav is a file-based Web-platform built in PHP. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hyperion Financial Reporting product of Oracle Hyperion (component: Repository). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Visual Analyzer). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hyperion Workspace product of Oracle Hyperion (component: UI and Visualization). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Tools product of Oracle JD Edwards (component: Web Runtime SEC). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Java VM component of Oracle Database Server. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, Oracle GraalVM for JDK product of Oracle Java SE (component: GraalVM Compiler). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the JD Edwards EnterpriseOne Orchestrator product of Oracle JD Edwards (component: E1 IOT Orchestrator Security). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, Oracle GraalVM for JDK product of Oracle Java SE (component: Libraries). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the MySQL Server product of Oracle MySQL (component: Server: Pluggable Auth). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Portal). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Missing Authentication for Critical Function vulnerability could allow attackers to access critical functionality without authentication.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, Oracle GraalVM for JDK product of Oracle Java SE (component: Hotspot). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, Oracle GraalVM for JDK product of Oracle Java SE (component: Hotspot). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in Oracle Java SE (component: JavaFX). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Applications Framework product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Diagnostics). 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, Oracle GraalVM for JDK product of Oracle Java SE (component: Hotspot). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.1), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Agile PLM product of Oracle Supply Chain (component: WebClient). 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: Security: Privileges). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Unified Audit component of Oracle Database Server. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Health Sciences Sciences Data Management Workbench product of Oracle Health Sciences Applications (component: Blinding Functionality). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Analytics Server). 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: Portal). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Analytics Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Business Intelligence Enterprise Edition product of Oracle Analytics (component: Analytics Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in Oracle Essbase (component: Security and Provisioning). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Self-Service Human Resources product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Workforce Management). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Java SE, Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition, Oracle GraalVM for JDK product of Oracle Java SE (component: Networking). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Applications Technology product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Reports Configuration). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Mobile Security Suite product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Android Mobile Authenticator App). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hyperion Essbase Administration Services product of Oracle Essbase (component: EAS Administration and EAS Console). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
Vulnerability in the Advanced Networking Option component of Oracle Database Server. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
Missing Authentication for a Critical Function within the Kratos NGC Indoor Unit (IDU) before 11.4 allows remote attackers to obtain arbitrary control of the IDU/ODU system. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Iagona ScrutisWeb versions 2.1.37 and prior are vulnerable to a cryptographic vulnerability that could allow an unauthenticated user to decrypt encrypted passwords into plaintext. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
AMI MegaRAC SPx12 contains a vulnerability in BMC where a User may cause an authentication bypass by spoofing the HTTP header. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Spring Security versions 5.8 prior to 5.8.5, 6.0 prior to 6.0.5, and 6.1 prior to 6.1.2 could be susceptible to authorization rule misconfiguration if the application uses requestMatchers(String) and. 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.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 37788