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 (32974)
A flaw was found in GDM in versions prior to 3.38.2.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 3.5.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), 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.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 3.5.1. 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.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 3.4.1. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 3.4.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Zammad before 3.4.1. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Panasonic Security System WV-S2231L 4.25 has an insecure hard-coded password of lkjhgfdsa (which is just the asdf keyboard row in reverse order). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The WooCommerce plugin before 4.7.0 for WordPress allows remote attackers to view the status of arbitrary orders via the order_id parameter in a fetch_order_status action. 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.
Hyperledger Indy Node is the server portion of a distributed ledger purpose-built for decentralized identity. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
CloudEngine 1800V versions V100R019C10SPC500 has a resource management error vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect Access Control vulnerability in TerraMaster TOS <= 4.2.06 allows remote authenticated attackers to bypass read-only restriction and obtain full access to any folder within the NAS. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A hard-coded password vulnerability has been reported to affect earlier versions of QES. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Programi Bilanc build 007 release 014 31.01.2020 and possibly below. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in URVE Build 24.03.2020. 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.
An issue was discovered in Programi Bilanc build 007 release 014 31.01.2020 and possibly below. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The built-in WEB server for MOXA NPort IAW5000A-I/O firmware version 2.1 or lower allows SSH/Telnet sessions, which may be vulnerable to brute force attacks to bypass authentication. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The affected versions of S+ Operations (version 2.1 SP1 and earlier) used an approach for user authentication which relies on validation at the client node (client-side authentication). Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In S+ Operations and S+ Historian, the passwords of internal users (not Windows Users) are encrypted but improperly stored in a database. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.0). No vendor patch available.
In S+ Operations and S+ History, it is possible that an unauthenticated user could inject values to the Operations History server (or standalone S+ History server) and ultimately write values to the. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In S+ Operations and S+ Historian, not all client commands correctly check user permission as expected. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on D-Link DSL-2888A devices with firmware prior to AU_2.31_V1.1.47ae55. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on D-Link DSL-2888A devices with firmware prior to AU_2.31_V1.1.47ae55. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
This affects the package multi-ini before 2.1.2. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. Public exploit code available.
An issue was discovered in the Widgets extension for MediaWiki through 1.35.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Programi Bilanc Build 007 Release 014 31.01.2020 supplies a .exe file containing several hardcoded credentials to different servers that allow remote attackers to gain access to the complete. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
ZTE E8810/E8820/E8822 series routers have an information leak vulnerability, which is caused by hard-coded MQTT service access credentials on the device. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Security Secret Server 10.6 could allow a remote attacker to obtain sensitive information, caused by the failure to properly enable HTTP Strict Transport Security. 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.
IBM Automation Workstream Services 19.0.3, 20.0.1, 20.0.2, IBM Business Automation Workflow 18.0, 19.0, and 20.0 and IBM Business Process Manager 8.6 could allow an authenticated user to obtain. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
Emerson Rosemount X-STREAM Gas AnalyzerX-STREAM enhanced XEGP, XEGK, XEFD, XEXF - all revisions, The affected products are vulnerable to improper authentication for accessing log and backup data,. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in ovirt-engine 4.4.3 and earlier allowing an authenticated user to read other users' personal information, including name, email and public SSH key. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Incorrect Session Validation in Apache Airflow Webserver versions prior to 1.10.14 with default config allows a malicious airflow user on site A where they log in normally, to access unauthorized. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A signature verification vulnerability exists in crewjam/saml. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
LimitLoginAttempts.php in the limit-login-attempts-reloaded plugin before 2.17.4 for WordPress allows a bypass of (per IP address) rate limits because the X-Forwarded-For header can be forged. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In the Pulsar manager 0.1.0 version, malicious users will be able to bypass pulsar-manager's admin, permission verification mechanism by constructing special URLs, thereby accessing any HTTP API. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In tangro Business Workflow before 1.18.1, knowing an attachment ID, it is possible to download workitem attachments without being authenticated. 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.
In tangro Business Workflow before 1.18.1, an attacker can manipulate the value of PERSON in requests to /api/profile in order to change profile information of other users. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An incorrect access control implementation in Tangro Business Workflow before 1.18.1 allows an attacker to download documents (PDF) by providing a valid document ID and token. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
In tangro Business Workflow before 1.18.1, the documentId of attachment uploads to /api/document/attachments/upload can be manipulated. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with O(8.x), P(9.0), and Q(10.0) (Exynos chipsets) software. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with O(8.x), P(9.0), Q(10.0), and R(11.0) software. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The online help portal of Mitel MiCollab before 9.2 could allow an attacker to redirect a user to an unauthorized website by executing malicious script due to insufficient access control. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A flaw was found in Linux-Pam in versions prior to 1.5.1 in the way it handle empty passwords for non-existing users. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An authentication bypass vulnerability exists in the Web Manager functionality of Lantronix XPort EDGE 3.0.0.0R11, 3.1.0.0R9, 3.4.0.0R12 and 4.2.0.0R7. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in Trend Micro InterScan Web Security Virtual Appliance 6.5 SP2 could allow an attacker to manipulate system updates using a combination of CSRF bypass (CVE-2020-8461) and. 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.
Fleet is an open source osquery manager. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity.
The Magic Home Pro application 1.5.1 for Android allows Authentication Bypass. 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 official memcached docker images before 1.5.11-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official rabbitmq docker images before 3.7.13-beta.1-management-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official haproxy docker images before 1.8.18-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official vault docker images before 0.11.6 contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official drupal docker images before 8.5.10-fpm-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official plone Docker images before version of 4.3.18-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official adminer docker images before 4.7.0-fastcgi contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official composer docker images before 1.8.3 contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official kong docker images before 1.0.2-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official telegraf docker images before 1.9.4-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official ghost docker images before 2.16.1-alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Unrestricted access to the log downloader functionality in EPSON EPS TSE Server 8 (21.0.11) allows an unauthenticated attacker to remotely retrieve administrative hashed credentials via the. 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 was discovered in SolarWinds N-Central 12.3.0.670. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in SolarWinds N-Central 12.3.0.670. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Software AG Terracotta Server OSS Docker image 5.4.1 contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Appbase streams Docker image 2.1.2 contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The official sonarqube docker images before alpine (Alpine specific) contain a blank password for a root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Docker Docs Docker image through 2020-12-14 contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Blackfire Docker image through 2020-12-14 contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Version 1.3.0 of the Weave Cloud Agent Docker image contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Version 1.0.0 of the Instana Dynamic APM Docker image contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Version 3.16.0 of the CoScale agent Docker image contains a blank password for the root user. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
An issue was discovered in Xen through 4.14.x. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
A flaw was found in the way RTAS handled memory accesses in userspace to kernel communication. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available.
In getGpuStatsGlobalInfo and getGpuStatsAppInfo of GpuService.cpp, there is a possible permission bypass due to a missing permission check. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In SELinux policies of mls, there is a missing permission check. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In onFactoryReset of BluetoothManagerService.java, there is a missing permission check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In broadcastWifiCredentialChanged of ClientModeImpl.java, there is a possible location permission bypass due to a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In getLockTaskLaunchMode of ActivityRecord.java, there is a possible way for any app to start in Lock Task Mode due to a permissions bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In getRadioAccessFamily of PhoneInterfaceManager.java, there is a possible read of privileged data due to a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In canUseBiometric of BiometricServiceBase, there is a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In areFunctionsSupported of UsbBackend.java, there is a possible access to tethering from a guest account due to a missing permission check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In AndroidManifest.xml, there is a possible permissions bypass. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
In callUnchecked of DocumentsProvider.java, there is a possible permissions bypass due to a missing permission check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In callUnchecked of DocumentsProvider.java, there is a possible permissions bypass. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
In sendLinkConfigurationChangedBroadcast of ClientModeImpl.java, there is a possible information disclosure due to a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In createInputConsumer of WindowManagerService.java, there is a possible way to block and intercept input events due to a missing permission check. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In updateIncomingFileConfirmNotification of BluetoothOppNotification.java, there is a possible permissions bypass. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Incorrect Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to bypass authorization checks to access restricted resources.
IBM Connect:Direct for UNIX 6.1.0, 6.0.0, 4.3.0, and 4.2.0 can allow a local or remote user to obtain an authenticated CLI session due to improper authentication methods. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In the Broadcom Nexus firmware, there is an insecure default password. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In listen() and related functions of TelephonyRegistry.java, there is a possible permissions bypass of location permissions due to a missing permission check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
In createNameCredentialDialog of CertInstaller.java, there exists the possibility of improperly installed certificates due to a logic error. 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.
In sendConfiguredNetworkChangedBroadcast of WifiConfigManager.java, there is a possible leak of sensitive WiFi configuration data due to a missing permission check. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Missing Authorization vulnerability could allow attackers to access resources or perform actions without proper authorization checks.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 32974