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 (33033)
Vulnerability in the Oracle Quoting product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Courseware). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle One-to-One Fulfillment product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Print Server). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Marketing product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Marketing Administration). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Management Services). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: WLS Web Services). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle One-to-One Fulfillment product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Print Server). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle One-to-One Fulfillment product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Print Server). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle One-to-One Fulfillment product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Print Server). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle One-to-One Fulfillment product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Print Server). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Common Applications Calendar product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Notes). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Trade Management product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Claims). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Trade Management product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Budget). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Common Applications Calendar product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Notes). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Universal Work Queue product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Work Provider Administration). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Universal Work Queue product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Work Provider Administration). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Scripting product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Miscellaneous). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java SE product of Oracle Java SE (component: JSSE). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle iSupport product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Profile). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Email Center product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: KB Search). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Console). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle iStore product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Shopping Cart). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle E-Business Intelligence product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: DBI Setups). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle E-Business Intelligence product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: DBI Setups). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Marketing Encyclopedia System product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Administration). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java SE, Java SE Embedded product of Oracle Java SE (component: Lightweight HTTP Server). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle GraalVM Enterprise Edition product of Oracle GraalVM (component: GraalVM Compiler). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Process Scheduler). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Email Center product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Message Display). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Email Center product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Email Address list and Message Display). Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Financial Services Analytical Applications Infrastructure product of Oracle Financial Services Applications (component: Infrastructure). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle iSupport product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: User Interface). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Outside In Technology product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Outside In Filters). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java SE product of Oracle Java SE (component: JSSE). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Hyperion Financial Management product of Oracle Hyperion (component: Security). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Portal). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Human Resources product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Absence Recording, Maintenance). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: Whodo). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.5). Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Hyperion Financial Reporting product of Oracle Hyperion (component: Web Based Report Designer). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java SE product of Oracle Java SE (component: JSSE). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebLogic Server product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Console). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Java SE product of Oracle Java SE (component: Advanced Management Console). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Workflow product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Workflow Notification Mailer). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the PeopleSoft Enterprise PeopleTools product of Oracle PeopleSoft (component: Portal). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle General Ledger product of Oracle E-Business Suite (component: Account Hierarchy Manager). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Solaris product of Oracle Systems (component: SMF command svcbundle). Rated low severity (CVSS 2.5). No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Access Manager product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: SSO Engine). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Hospitality Reporting and Analytics component of Oracle Food and Beverage Applications. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Transportation Management product of Oracle Supply Chain (component: Security). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle VM VirtualBox product of Oracle Virtualization (component: Core). Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Access Manager product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Authentication Engine). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle WebCenter Sites product of Oracle Fusion Middleware (component: Advanced UI). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Siebel UI Framework product of Oracle Siebel CRM (component: EAI, SWSE). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the RDBMS/Optimizer component of Oracle Database Server. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Primavera P6 Enterprise Project Portfolio Management product of Oracle Construction and Engineering (component: Project Manager). Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Knowledge product of Oracle Knowledge (component: Information Manager Console). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Vulnerability in the Oracle Knowledge product of Oracle Knowledge (component: Information Manager Console). Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Authentication bypass vulnerability in MfeUpgradeTool in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior to 10.7.0 April 2020 Update allows administrator users to access policy settings via running. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.7), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Exploiting incorrectly configured access control security levels vulnerability in ENS Firewall in McAfee Endpoint Security (ENS) for Windows prior to 10.7.0 April 2020 and 10.6.1 April 2020 updates. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability in the Change Password feature of Subex ROC Partner Settlement 10.5 allows remote authenticated users to achieve account takeover via. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Cellebrite UFED 5.0 through 7.29 uses four hardcoded RSA private keys to authenticate to the ADB daemon on target devices. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
SAP Solution Manager (Diagnostics Agent), version 7.2, does not perform the authentication check for the functionalities of the Collector Simulator, leading to Missing Authentication. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.6), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP S/4 HANA (Financial Products Subledger and Banking Services), versions - FSAPPL 400, 450, 500 and S4FPSL 100, allows an authenticated user to run an analysis report due to Missing Authorization. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP Commerce, versions 1811, 1905, does not perform necessary authorization checks for an anonymous user, due to Missing Authorization Check. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
SAP S/4HANA (Financial Products Subledger), version 100, uses an incorrect authorization object in some reports. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A remote authenticated authorization-bypass vulnerability in Wowza Streaming Engine 4.8.0 and earlier allows any read-only user to issue requests to the administration panel in order to change. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
IBM QRadar SIEM 7.3.0 through 7.3.3 could allow an authenticated attacker to perform unauthorized actions due to improper input validation. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
Insufficient policy enforcement in extensions in Google Chrome prior to 81.0.4044.92 allowed a remote attacker who had compromised the renderer process to bypass navigation restrictions via a crafted. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insufficient policy enforcement in extensions in Google Chrome prior to 81.0.4044.92 allowed a remote attacker to bypass navigation restrictions via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Insufficient policy enforcement in navigations in Google Chrome prior to 81.0.4044.92 allowed a remote attacker to bypass navigation restrictions via a crafted HTML page. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
vulnerability within the Multimedia Viewer feature of Cisco Webex Meetings could allow an authenticated, remote attacker to bypass security protections. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in the Responsive Poll through 1.3.4 for Wordpress. 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.
UniFi Cloud Key firmware < 1.1.6 contains a vulnerability that enables an attacker being able to change a device hostname by sending a malicious API request. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), 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.
An issue was discovered in ProVide (formerly zFTPServer) through 13.1. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
VMware Tanzu Application Service for VMs, 2.6.x versions prior to 2.6.18, 2.7.x versions prior to 2.7.11, and 2.8.x versions prior to 2.8.5, includes a version of PCF Autoscaling that writes database. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
There is an improper authentication vulnerability in several smartphones. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Under certain conditions, vmdir that ships with VMware vCenter Server, as part of an embedded or external Platform Services Controller (PSC), does not correctly implement access controls. 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.
WebAccess/NMS (versions prior to 3.0.2) allows an unauthenticated remote user to create a new admin account. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
As of v1.5.0, the default admin password is set to the argocd-server pod name. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
On Juniper Networks EX and QFX Series, an authentication bypass vulnerability may allow a user connected to the console port to login as root without any password. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The factory configuration for vMX installations, as shipped, includes default credentials for the root account. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A Use of Hard-coded Credentials vulnerability exists in the NFX250 Series for the vSRX Virtual Network Function (VNF) instance, which allows an attacker to take control of the vSRX VNF instance if. Rated critical severity (CVSS 10.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
TechSupport files generated on Palo Alto Networks VM Series firewalls for Microsoft Azure platform configured with high availability (HA) inadvertently collect Azure dashboard service account. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on XIAOMI XIAOAI speaker Pro LX06 1.52.4. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered on Samsung mobile devices with P(9.0) and Q(10.0) software. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Security Information Queue (ISIQ) 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4, and 1.0.5 could allow any authenticated user to spoof the configuration owner of any other user which disclose sensitive. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
IBM Security Information Queue (ISIQ) 1.0.0, 1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.0.3, 1.0.4, and 1.0.5 could allow an authenticated user to perform unauthorized actions by bypassing illegal character restrictions. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
An issue was discovered in EJBCA before 6.15.2.6 and 7.x before 7.3.1.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
OpsRamp Gateway before 7.0.0 has a backdoor account vadmin with the password 9vt@f3Vt that allows root SSH access to the server. 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 the IMPress for IDX Broker plugin before 2.6.2 for WordPress. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Quick Facts
- Typical Severity
- CRITICAL
- Category
- auth
- Total CVEs
- 33033