Information Disclosure
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.
How It Works
Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security. This happens through multiple channels: verbose error messages that display stack traces revealing internal paths and frameworks, improperly secured debug endpoints left active in production, and misconfigured servers that expose directory listings or version control artifacts like .git folders. APIs often leak excessive data in responses—returning full user objects when only a name is needed, or revealing system internals through metadata fields.
Attackers exploit these exposures systematically. They probe for common sensitive files (.env, config.php, backup archives), trigger error conditions to extract framework details, and analyze response timing or content differences to enumerate valid usernames or resources. Even subtle variations—like "invalid password" versus "user not found"—enable account enumeration. Exposed configuration files frequently contain database credentials, API keys, or internal service URLs that unlock further attack vectors.
The attack flow typically starts with passive reconnaissance: examining HTTP headers, JavaScript bundles, and public endpoints for version information and architecture clues. Active probing follows—testing predictable paths, manipulating parameters to trigger exceptions, and comparing responses across similar requests to identify information leakage patterns.
Impact
- Credential compromise: Exposed configuration files, hardcoded secrets in source code, or API keys enable direct authentication bypass
- Attack surface mapping: Stack traces, framework versions, and internal paths help attackers craft targeted exploits for known vulnerabilities
- Data breach: Direct exposure of user data, payment information, or proprietary business logic through oversharing APIs or accessible backups
- Privilege escalation pathway: Internal URLs, service discovery information, and architecture details facilitate lateral movement and SSRF attacks
- Compliance violations: GDPR, PCI-DSS, and HIPAA penalties for exposing regulated data through preventable disclosures
Real-World Examples
A major Git repository exposure affected thousands of websites when .git folders remained accessible on production servers, allowing attackers to reconstruct entire source code histories including deleted commits containing credentials. Tools like GitDumper automated mass exploitation of this misconfiguration.
Cloud storage misconfigurations have repeatedly exposed sensitive data when companies left S3 buckets or Azure Blob containers publicly readable. One incident exposed 150 million voter records because verbose API error messages revealed the storage URL structure, and no authentication was required.
Framework debug modes left enabled in production have caused numerous breaches. Django's DEBUG=True setting exposed complete stack traces with database queries and environment variables, while Laravel's debug pages revealed encryption keys through the APP_KEY variable in environment dumps.
Mitigation
- Generic error pages: Return uniform error messages to users; log detailed exceptions server-side only
- Disable debug modes: Enforce production configurations that suppress stack traces, verbose logging, and debug endpoints through deployment automation
- Access control audits: Restrict or remove development artifacts (
.git, backup files,phpinfo()) and internal endpoints before deployment - Response minimization: API responses should return only necessary fields; implement allowlists rather than blocklists for data exposure
- Security headers: Deploy
X-Content-Type-Options, remove server version banners, and disable directory indexing - Timing consistency: Ensure authentication and validation responses take uniform time regardless of input validity
Recent CVEs (13652)
Rejected reason: DO NOT USE THIS CANDIDATE NUMBER. No vendor patch available.
Rejected reason: DO NOT USE THIS CANDIDATE NUMBER. No vendor patch available.
An insertion of sensitive information into log file vulnerabilities [CWE-532] in FortiManager version 7.4.0, version 7.2.3 and below, version 7.0.8 and below, version 6.4.12 and below, version 6.2.11. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper validation of integrity check value vulnerability [CWE-354] in FortiNDR version 7.4.2 and below, version 7.2.1 and below, version 7.1.1 and below, version 7.0.6 and below may allow an. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
IBM Security QRadar 3.12 EDR uses weaker than expected cryptographic algorithms that could allow an attacker to decrypt sensitive credential information. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
IBM Security QRadar 3.12 EDR stores user credentials in plain text which can be read by a local privileged user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.1). No vendor patch available.
An improper certificate validation vulnerability [CWE-295] in FortiPortal version 7.4.0, version 7.2.4 and below, version 7.0.8 and below, version 6.0.15 and below when connecting to a FortiManager. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
The device uses a weak hashing alghorithm to create the password hash. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The device uses an unencrypted, proprietary protocol for communication. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Civi - Job Board & Freelance Marketplace WordPress Theme plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 2.1.4 via hard-coded. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The Omnipress plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 1.5.4 via the megamenu block due to insufficient restrictions on which posts can be. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
The CiyaShop - Multipurpose WooCommerce Theme theme for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 4.19.0 via deserialization of untrusted input in the. Rated critical severity (CVSS 9.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The InstaWP Connect - 1-click WP Staging & Migration plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Cross-Site Request Forgery in all versions up to, and including, 0.1.0.83. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
numbers.c in libxslt before 1.1.43 has a use-after-free because, in nested XPath evaluations, an XPath context node can be modified but never restored. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
xsltGetInheritedNsList in libxslt before 1.1.43 has a use-after-free issue related to exclusion of result prefixes. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
Rejected reason: This CVE ID has been rejected or withdrawn by its CVE Numbering Authority. No vendor patch available.
A token is created using the username, current date/time, and a fixed AES-128 encryption key, which is the same across all installations. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.5), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Snowflake, a platform for using artificial intelligence in the context of cloud computing, has a vulnerability in the Snowflake JDBC driver ("Driver") in versions 3.0.13 through 3.23.0 of the driver. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in the "GetWebLoginCredentials" function in "Sante PACS Server.exe". Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The password of a web user in "Sante PACS Server.exe" is zero-padded to 0x2000 bytes, SHA1-hashed, base64-encoded, and stored in the USER table in the SQLite database HTTP.db. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Sante PACS Server contains an unauthenticated path traversal vulnerability that allows remote attackers to download arbitrary files from the server's installation drive. Medical imaging servers typically contain DICOM files with protected health information (PHI), making this a significant healthcare data breach vector.
Optigo Networks Visual BACnet Capture Tool and Optigo Visual Networks Capture Tool version 3.1.2rc11 are vulnerable to an attacker impersonating the web application service and mislead victim clients. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Optigo Networks Visual BACnet Capture Tool and Optigo Visual Networks Capture Tool version 3.1.2rc11 contain a hard coded secret key. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Vim, a text editor, is vulnerable to potential data loss with zip.vim and special crafted zip files in versions prior to 9.1.1198. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity.
This CVE only affects Kubernetes clusters that utilize the in-tree gitRepo volume to clone git repositories from other pods within the same node. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted MODEL file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted MODEL file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force a Heap-Based Overflow vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted CATPRODUCT file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Uninitialized Variable vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted CATPRODUCT file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Uninitialized Variable vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted MODEL file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted 3DM file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force a Use-After-Free vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted SLDPRT file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted MODEL file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force a Heap-Based Overflow vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted CATPART file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Out-of-Bounds Read vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A maliciously crafted CATPRODUCT file, when parsed through Autodesk AutoCAD, can force an Uninitialized Variable vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
This CVE affects only Windows worker nodes. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Rejected reason: This CVE ID has been rejected or withdrawn by its CVE Numbering Authority. No vendor patch available.
User Enumeration via Discrepancies in Error Messages in the Celk Sistemas Celk Saude v.3.1.252.1 password recovery functionality which allows a remote attacker to enumerate users through. 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.
Exposure of password in web-based SSH authentication component in Devolutions Server 2024.3.13 and earlier allows a user to unadvertently leak his SSH password due to missing password masking. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Exposure of sensitive information in My Personal Credentials password history component in Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager 2024.3.29 and earlier on Windows allows an authenticated user to. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Exposure of sensitive information in hub data source export feature in Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager 2024.3.29 and earlier on Windows allows a user exporting a hub data source to include his. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
The All-in-One WP Migration and Backup plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to PHP Object Injection in all versions up to, and including, 7.89 via deserialization of untrusted input in the. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
This vulnerability exists in the CAP back office application due to missing rate limiting on OTP requests in an API endpoint. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.2), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
This vulnerability exists in the CAP back office application due to a weak password-reset mechanism implemented at API endpoints. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Rejected reason: This CVE ID has been rejected or withdrawn by its CVE Numbering Authority. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability exists in Issuetrak v17.2.2 and prior that allows a low-privileged user to access audit results of other users by exploiting an Insecure Direct Object Reference (IDOR) vulnerability. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.7), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An issue was discovered in GitLab EE/CE affecting all versions starting from 11.5 before 17.7.7, all versions starting from 17.8 before 17.8.5, all versions starting from 17.9 before 17.9.2. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
An issue in parse-git-config v.3.0.0 allows an attacker to obtain sensitive information via the expandKeys function. 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.
Matching of hosts against proxy patterns can improperly treat an IPv6 zone ID as a hostname component. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.4), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks GlobalProtect app on Windows allows a remote attacker to run ActiveX controls within the context of an authenticated Windows user. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.0), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability in the Palo Alto Networks PAN-OS software enables an authenticated admin on the PAN-OS CLI to read arbitrary files. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Apache NiFi 1.13.0 through 2.2.0 includes the username and password used to authenticate with MongoDB in the NiFi provenance events that MongoDB components generate during processing. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
of FTP server credentials when the FTP server is deployed, and the device is placed in debug mode by an administrative user and the debug files are exported from the device. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.0), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper link resolution before file access in the Nomad module of the 1E Client, in versions prior to 25.3, enables an attacker with local unprivileged access on a Windows system to delete arbitrary. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Improper Neutralization of Script in an Error Message Web Page vulnerability in OpenText™ Service Manager. Rated low severity (CVSS 2.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable. No vendor patch available.
Flarum is open-source forum software. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.8), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
JSON is a JSON implementation for Ruby. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. This Out-of-bounds Read vulnerability could allow attackers to read data from memory outside the intended buffer boundaries.
In JetBrains Ktor before 3.1.1 an HTTP Request Smuggling was possible. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In JetBrains Runtime before 21.0.6b872.80 arbitrary dynamic library execution due to insecure macOS flags was possible. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.2), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
An improper access control vulnerability exists in Bitdefender Box 1 (firmware version 1.3.52.928 and below) that allows an unauthenticated attacker to downgrade the device's firmware to an older,. Rated low severity (CVSS 1.8), this vulnerability is no authentication required. No vendor patch available.
Generation of Error Message Containing Sensitive Information vulnerability in Hillstone Networks Hillstone Next Generation FireWall.5R8P1 before 5.5R8P23. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: io_uring: prevent opcode speculation sqe->opcode is used for different tables, make sure we santitise it against speculations. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drop_monitor: fix incorrect initialization order Syzkaller reports the following bug: BUG: spinlock bad magic on CPU#1,. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use of Uninitialized Resource vulnerability could allow attackers to access uninitialized memory causing crashes or information disclosure.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/migrate_device: don't add folio to be freed to LRU in migrate_device_finalize() If migration succeeded, we called. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: mm/zswap: fix inconsistency when zswap_store_page() fails Commit b7c0ccdfbafd ("mm: zswap: support large folios in zswap_store()"). Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: USB: gadget: f_midi: f_midi_complete to call queue_work When using USB MIDI, a lock is attempted to be acquired twice through a. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: geneve: Fix use-after-free in geneve_find_dev(). Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: s390/ism: add release function for struct device According to device_release() in /drivers/base/core.c, a device without a release. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ibmvnic: Don't reference skb after sending to VIOS Previously, after successfully flushing the xmit buffer to VIOS, the tx_bytes. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. This Use After Free vulnerability could allow attackers to access freed memory to execute arbitrary code or crash the application.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: avoid holding freeze_mutex during mmap operation We use map->freeze_mutex to prevent races between map_freeze() and memory. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix softlockup in arena_map_free on 64k page kernel On an aarch64 kernel with CONFIG_PAGE_SIZE_64KB=y, arena_htab tests cause. Rated low severity (CVSS 3.3), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: drm/i915/gt: Use spin_lock_irqsave() in interruptible context spin_lock/unlock() functions used in interrupt contexts could result. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: bpf: Fix deadlock when freeing cgroup storage The following commit bc235cdb423a ("bpf: Prevent deadlock from recursive. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.5), this vulnerability is low attack complexity.
The Page Builder: Pagelayer - Drag and Drop website builder plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 1.9.8 via the. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, low attack complexity.
In the Linux kernel, the following vulnerability has been resolved: ksmbd: fix racy issue from session lookup and expire Increment the session reference count within the lock for lookup to avoid racy. Rated high severity (CVSS 8.1), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required.
The NEX-Forms - Ultimate Form Builder - Contact forms and much more plugin for WordPress is vulnerable to Sensitive Information Exposure in all versions up to, and including, 8.8.1 via file uploads. Rated medium severity (CVSS 5.3), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
A vulnerability was found in Odyssey CMS up to 10.34. Rated medium severity (CVSS 4.8), this vulnerability is low attack complexity. Public exploit code available and no vendor patch available.
A vulnerability has been found in LoveCards LoveCardsV2 up to 2.3.2 and classified as critical. Rated medium severity (CVSS 6.9), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.
Substance3D - Modeler versions 1.15.0 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
PDF-XChange Editor PDF File Parsing Out-Of-Bounds Read Information Disclosure Vulnerability. This vulnerability allows remote attackers to disclose sensitive information on affected installations of PDF-XChange Editor. [CVSS 3.3 LOW]
NVIDIA Riva contains a vulnerability where a user could cause an improper access control issue. A successful exploit of this vulnerability might lead to escalation of privileges, data tampering, denial of service, or information disclosure. [CVSS 7.3 HIGH]
Acrobat Reader versions 24.001.30225, 20.005.30748, 25.001.20428 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
Acrobat Reader versions 24.001.30225, 20.005.30748, 25.001.20428 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
Acrobat Reader versions 24.001.30225, 20.005.30748, 25.001.20428 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability when parsing a crafted file, which could result in a read past the end of an allocated memory structure. [CVSS 7.8 HIGH]
Percona PMM Server OVA images ship with default service account credentials that grant SSH access and sudo to root, exposing all monitoring data and managed database credentials. The scope change reflects that compromising the monitoring server gives access to all monitored infrastructure.
Illustrator versions 29.2.1, 28.7.4 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
Illustrator versions 29.2.1, 28.7.4 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
Acrobat Reader versions 24.001.30225, 20.005.30748, 25.001.20428 and earlier are affected by an out-of-bounds read vulnerability that could lead to disclosure of sensitive memory. An attacker could leverage this vulnerability to bypass mitigations such as ASLR. [CVSS 5.5 MEDIUM]
Improper verification of cryptographic signature in .NET allows an authorized attacker to execute code over a network. [CVSS 7.5 HIGH]
The ReadFile endpoint of the firmware for Mennekes Smart / Premium Chargingpoints can be abused to read arbitrary files from the underlying OS.